Mad World
by iamthenerd
Summary: All around him are familiar faces but he recognizes none of them. He found it kinda funny but also kinda sad, the dreams in which he's dying were the best he ever had. Lloyd grew up with hatred in his heart; hatred for the place he swore to protect. This hatred had been sitting too long and now all of Ninjago was going to feel the wrath of the Green Ninja.
1. Prologue

**Is it really me? Am I really back with a ninjago fanfic? The answer to both of those is yes! I am happy to be back and writing again!**

**Of course with Kai as my beta reader!**

**_Did you guys miss us? -Kai _**

**I'm not going to lie I'm really excited for the one, I've always loved the idea of evil Lloyd. I won't say too much now since I just want to get on with the story. Well anyways let's get on with the prologue!**

* * *

Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived a little boy and his family. Their story was very much a tragedy from start to finish. It goes like this...

There was a happy family, a mother, a father and a son. This happy family did everything together until one day someone took that from them. The father's brother accused the father of evil, which he was not wrong about. The father was very evil, but neither the son nor the mother minded, for the father had never hurt them. The father and his brother fought and in the end the father was banished to the underworld, never to be seen again. Soon after, the mother brought the son to a boarding school and left him there with no intent of returning. The son, was beyond upset having been abandoned by one parent and having lost the other. A year or so later, he left the boarding school and ran away. He wanted to be evil like his father, because then maybe he'd come back for him. The son at the time didn't understand that his father could not leave the underworld, that he was trapped there. So he did his best to be evil and wreak havoc on Ninjago. But he was just a boy and had no real power. The villagers he had "threatened" laughed at him.

Eventually he was stopped by his Uncle's students, who were ninja. They brought him back to their ship where he stayed only because he believed he'd have a better chance of seeing his father again and he did. But before that could happen, he got himself kidnapped by the serpentine. Weeks went by and after what seemed like eternity for the son, his Uncle and his father, along with the ninja, showed up to rescue him! He was so happy to see his father after years of thinking he never would. His father looked different than he remembered, though he didn't care, he was too happy. However fate seemed to be cruel to the son for after he was rescued and everyone was safe on the ship, he learned of his fate. He was the Green Ninja, destined to fight his father and bring back balance to Ninjago. Just when he'd gotten his father back he lost him again.

So the son began his training, though he hated every minute of it. But who wouldn't hate training to fight their own father? The son continued to live with his Uncle and go on adventures. One of those adventures led to him being aged up to a teenager, that did not sit well with him. Because he aged up it only meant his battle with his father was closer and that his childhood was over. The son, though he hid his true emotions, grew more unhappy with each passing day. He missed out on his childhood, and was forced into a destiny he did not want. He'd lost his father once and now he was going to lose him again. The son did his best continue with the training and tried to think of a way to alter his destiny. One day, while on a mission, the son and the mother were reunited! The mother was overjoyed to see her son but shocked at how much he had grown. The son was quite the opposite. He was not too happy to see his mother, as she had abandoned him. The son would never forgive her for that. He had decided to play nice and showed his mother the same joy she had shown him. The mother decided to stay and help once she learned her son must fight his father. She had been studying the past of Ninjago and knew some useful information on the Green Ninja.

Eventually that fateful day came, the final battle. The son had a plan to join his father and help him take over Ninjago. His father was the only who had never betrayed or abandoned him so why should he have to fight him? But things did not go the son's way when the Overlord possessed his father. That was when he decided he would fight only to save his father or avenge him if was too late. Much to his dismay, the son lost the first fight and thought it was over from there but he gained a second chance. When it came time to fight the Overlord again, he became the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master and unlocked the golden power. With his new power he defeated the Overlord and freed his father from all the evil that was in him. Seeing his father had become good again, the son forgot all his evil intentions that he had. His family was whole again! And someday his heart would be too.

* * *

The father and the son spent as much time together as they could. The father helped the son control his ability and taught him how to use it properly. The son could care less for his powers he just loved that his father was back. Though his power attracted the ghost of the Overlord who had somehow survived. He was kidnapped and nearly drained of his golden power. The son managed to escape and regroup with his father and the ninja. He had actually learned to put up with the ninja since his father's return. But unfortunately, he watched one die to stop the Overlord. As a result of the Overlords return, the almost death of his father again and the death of one of the ninja, he gave up his golden power. He didn't need it and it seemed to only bring trouble.

* * *

The happy family continued to live together even as the ninja went their separate ways. All was well again. But when the son received word that their fallen ninja was alive, he gathered the others. For the son and other ninja were called upon to join a tournament of elements. The father knew the one holding the tournament and demanded he come too in order to keep his son safe. The tournament ended up being a trap but the son and ninja figured it out soon enough. Everything was going according to plan until it wasn't. There wa a traitor amongst them who warned the man that they knew the truth. The man and his minions running the tournament turned into Anacondrai, using all the elemental master's powers. So the father devised a plan; call upon the true Anacondrai to stop these imposters. But to do that...

A sacrifice would have to be made. Someone would have to be banished to the cursed realm. Someone would have to die.

The father volunteered saying he was the only choice in this case. He helped start this mess it was only fitting he helped to finish it. The son was outraged. How could his father leave him again? He had just gotten him back. The son left to go fight rather than stand and watch his father be sacrificed. But after a moment the son returned and asked that he be the one to read the spell that would banish his father once more. The son and the mother watched as the father was taken from them again. After the fight was won, the son disappeared for a few months. No one knew where he went or what he was doing but no one wanted to ask either.

* * *

The son eventually returned but of course a new problem arose. He became possessed by a ghost of one of his Uncle's former students. He understood the anger this ghost felt for he felt the same. He didn't try to fight the ghost majority of the time but he didn't help him either. The son let the ghost use him until the ninja saved him. He knew he'd be forced to fight the ghost now because he was the great and powerful Green Ninja. He had a duty to Ninjago. This ghost summoned the Preeminent which turned out to be the Cursed Realm...where his father was. The son allowed the Preeminent to take him so he could find his father. To say he was filled with joy when he did find him would be an understatement. He promised his father he would get him out of there and the family would be happy together again. The father smiled sadly at the son and told him that whatever happens he will always be with him. The son returned to his realm and fought the ghost that had possessed him. Once he defeated him he was going to stop the Preeminent and save his father. Though things never go to plan for the son. The ghost led the son on a realm hopping trip and trapped him in one before returning to the fight. The son panicked, unable to get back and save his father or know what was happening. He had not even had a chance to tell the ninja about his plan. Eventually a portal opened and he hopped through. When he returned to his own realm his mother hugged him immediately, but he did not hug back. To his horror the Preeminent had been destroyed and his father was gone...this time it was forever.

That day something in the son snapped and he was never the same. For the next two years he put on a smile and helped serve his home without question. But he was numb and empty. So many times he had saved Ninjago but had never received anything in return. There was no mention of his father for the mother, his uncle and the ninja feared they would only upset the son.

And so concluded the story of the happy family...

The father was gone.

The mother had returned.

The son became angry.

That's what happened so far at least, the story has yet to finish. And I should know because I am the son.

Fate will not stand in my way this time, no matter the cost.

* * *

**Not the best prologue I've written but what can I say? I'm a little rusty at this.**

**I honestly don't know how often I'll update. It won't longer than a two week between chapters, I know that much. I'm technically writing two ninjago fanfics but only posting one for now. The other will come soon, don't worry!**

**I hope**** you enjoy the book!**

**And remember to check my profile for when updates are coming!**

**-Vin**

_**For once I can truthfully say I read this over before letting him publish it. ~Kai**_


	2. I

**Here it is! The first official chapter! Just like in my other book, Kai and I will be answering reviews at the beginning! Also for those who don't Kai is an actual real person, he isn't Kai from Ninjago, just thought I would clear that up.**

**Review Responses:**

_**Master**__** Unknown:**_** I'm glad you're excited! And I hope you enjoy the book!**

_**The Trickiest**_** One:**** I'm glad you're interested in reading this, gotta say I was unsure about posting it.**

**_Browneyedace:_ HOLy SHit DUDE, thank you so much! Much love!**

_**The Phantom**__** Ray:**_** I always imagine my favorite characters as evil, it was only a matter of a time before I did the same with Lloyd. And not only did I come back to writing Ninjago fanfics, I also just got back into watching the show. Thank you so much for thinking my story has a great start.**

**Alright, enjoy chapter 1!**

* * *

In a more forgotten part of Ninjago, two mysterious people were in a room alone. One dressed in red and black and the other dawned a black outfit with a tint of green with a mask. The one dressed in red was standing before the other, awaiting instructions. The one in green sat upon a throne-like seat. The only sound that could be heard was the music from the other room.

"All the ninja, except one are out of town and won't return unless called upon." The one in green informed the other. "This is the perfect opportunity for us to seize the Mask of Vengeance." The one in red said nothing as the green one stood and started to pace. "I discovered its whereabouts while doing some research on the masks themselves. It's located on the top floor of Borg Industries." He continued to explain then stopped, turning to face Red. "But that shouldn't be a problem for you." Red shook his head. "I'll leave the plan to get it up to you. Though I assume you've put together a team like I asked." Green inquired and Red nodded this time and opened the door allowing five more people to enter the room.

"Good. You six are to infiltrate the tower quickly and quietly. Do not set off any alarms." Green stressed the last part. "Do I make myself clear?" He asked sternly. They all nodded. "Should you fail that one part, the Green Ninja _will_ show up and try to stop you, do not let him." He demanded. One of the five snickered and in an instance a blade was at their throat. Green stared down the one who laughed. "If you think this is a joke, I will not hesitate to remove you from this team permanently." He warned.

"He's just one ninja." One muttered and the sword switched to his throat.

"You think you are better than the Green Ninja?" Green retorted and then laughed. "You are not. Just because there are six of you and one of him does not mean you will win." Green sheathed his sword and backed away. "If you do fail, don't return to the Sons of Garmadon. For what I will do to you will be much worse than fleeing like a coward." The six nodded, most too scared to even speak. Green waved his hand and the five additional members left the room. Green peered out the window at the city. "Go now," He ordered Red. "You'll have a perfect distraction," He smirked. "For the celebrations are about to begin."

* * *

It was a night of joy for Ninjago. The streets were filled everywhere with people cheering and dancing. It was also the perfect cover for six masked people to use. They began to navigate their way across the roofs of buildings until Borg Industries was in sight. They would have to get closer but they could at least see the building now. The six continued climbing up buildings until they reached a highway. One by one they hurried across it, jumping to the building closest to it. This was the perfect place for the grappling hook. The one in green aimed it as best as he could for the floor they needed.

Once it was secure they climbed the rope up to Borg Industries. The one in green approached the window, peeking inside to make sure it was indeed the right floor and that there were no security guards. He knew what fate awaited them all should they screw this up. He pulled out his swords and cut the glass. Two of the others caught the glass and lowered it carefully, not making a sound. The green one kept watch as the others entered first. What he didn't know was, not too far away someone was keeping watch on them. The one watching them had a perfect view of Borg Industries. The one green entered and they each began looking for the mask. There were many masks in the room but none matched the description of the one they needed. All six gathered, having had no luck. The green one then got an idea and pushed the others out of his way. He made his way over to a picture of Mr. Borg, pulling out his swords again, he sliced it up revealing the mask behind it. Part one of the mission, finding the mask was a success. Getting it back to the boss was next. One of the others, who was dressed in gray, went to reach for it but the green one stopped them, revealing the lasers. Ever so carefully the green one used his swords to block the lasers and retrieved the mask. They silently celebrated, the mission had gone well. Or so they thought because at that same moment, the one in gray removed green's swords, setting off the alarm. One by one the windows started to get blocked off. Green grabbed his swords from Gray and they all ran for the window with the opening. They went for the rope to make a quick escape when a green glow caught their attention.

* * *

Lloyd sat atop a building enjoying the nice night air. He had insisted to Pixal on waiting outside in case something were to happen rather than being stuck indoors. Nothing had happened that the police couldn't handle on their own. Lloyd honestly wanted something or anything to happen that would require his help. The one thing he didn't want to hear was that he was needed at Borg Industries. As long as it was anywhere but there he would be satisfied. But no, things were quiet in the city or at least crime was quiet because everyone was too busy celebrating. Lloyd didn't mind partly because it did allow for him to brainstorm on how to proceed with his plan but that could only entertain him for so long. While sitting on top of the building though, he had a clear view of Borg Industries. He watched the team enter the building, without causing any problems. He had yet to see them come out though which worried him.

"Master Lloyd?" Pixal spoke suddenly. Lloyd pulled his attention away from the building.

"Yeah, Pixal?" He answered.

"An alarm has sounded at Borg Industries, the cameras show there are six intruders." Lloyd internally groaned. Speak of the devil. Of course an alarm went off at Borg Industries because nothing ever goes to plan, he thought. He knew something wasn't right when they didn't come back out as quickly.

"Thanks, Pix, heading there now." He replied and looked at the building next to him with a sigh. Lloyd knew he shouldn't have trusted those six to pull this off without messing up somehow. He jumped across the gap and used Spinjitzu to safely land on the balcony. As he did the team was catching their breath. From looks of it they had just barely made it. He knocked one of them out immediately. "If I didn't know any better I'd guess you guys were ninja." He mocked. He was beyond pissed at them for setting an alarm off. The five remaining intruders got into fighting stances. Lloyd was ready to see just how well this team could fight, whether or not they were worthy to stay in the Sons of Garmadon. One by one they each tried to attack him but he was able to strike them down before they could even land a hit. Maybe if they stopped attacking him one at a time they would actually stand a winning chance. He looked around at the four he knocked out, disappointingly, they were way too easy to take down. Lloyd watched as the one in green and another in gray, escaped down the grappling hook with the mask. Four down, two left. He grabbed hold of the rope and went after them. He almost reached the end of it but before he or the gray one made it, the green one cut the rope. Lloyd held on but the other didn't. He rolled his eyes and swung over, catching the thief before placing him on the ground. If he weren't dressed as the Green Ninja right now, he might've just let that one fall. Five down, one left. The one in green hopped on a motorcycle and took off down the street. "Pixal, if you could send my car my way that would be great!" Lloyd requested over the comms as he let go of the rope and began to plummet towards the city street.

"Understood." She responded. The ground grew closer and closer but Lloyd remained calm. Right on cue at the very last moment his car was there and he landed in the driver's seat.

"Perfect timing as always, Pix." He complimented her, before driving after the one in green who had now become the one in red. He had switched his green clothes for red ones apparently. "Who am I up against?" Lloyd asked Pixal. He needed to make sure she didn't recognize the one he was chasing, not that she should be able to. As far as anyone was concerned he didn't exist until a year ago. But if she found any information on him, it would jeopardize the mission.

"I can find no record of the person you are chasing." She informed him. Lloyd sighed with relief but didn't let her hear it. Perfect.

"Well whoever they are, they're good." He lied and continued after them. The chase led to an empty street and just as Lloyd pulled up next to the one in red, he slammed on his breaks. Lloyd followed suit and turned his car around. A moment of nothing went by as they stared at one another. Then they both charged. The one in red hit a switch on his motorcycle that allowed him to launch himself over Lloyd, who then hit the brakes on his car again. Lloyd jumped out his car and ran over to the edge of the street just to see the one in red pull a parachute. The parachute had Garmadon's face and the name 'Sons of Garmadon' written on it. Lloyd smirked, the one in red had pulled the mission off all on his own. He landed in a boat and looked up at Lloyd, who gave him the smallest nod ever. The mission was a success and he was happy. The Mask of Vengeance was now Lloyd's, with only two left to obtain.

"Master Lloyd?" Pixal called over the comms. "Can you hear me?" She worriedly asked. Pixal must've been speaking to him and he hadn't heard her. He was too caught up in the moment, that his goal was one step closer to being complete.

"Yes sorry Pix, I can hear you." Lloyd eventually responded.

"Are you alright?" She asked with concern.

"I'm fine, but contact the others, tell them to return as soon as they can. We may have a new threat on our hands." He instructed, nicely. Lloyd was disappointed that the Sons of Garmadon would be known now, he had hoped to lay low a little longer. It would make getting the second mask a little more difficult but not impossible.

* * *

Lloyd returned to his and the ninja's shared apartment in the city. He went straight to his room and switched from his ninja gi to something more comfortable. He had told Pixal he was turning in for the night and to wake him if there was an emergency. So for the rest of the night he was alone. Lloyd was relieved the mission had been a success. If it had not, the mask would be confiscated and locked up somewhere else, delaying their goal. Lloyd moved over to the balcony and overlooked the city. Soon Ninjago would get what it deserved. Lloyd had done so much for Ninjago and received nothing but pain in return. It almost made him want to reveal his identity to the city sooner so they would know that their beloved Green Ninja had betrayed them, but he couldn't or it would just make the mission that much harder.

Sure it wouldn't be impossible but then there would be those trying to stop him, like the ninja. Lloyd believed his father should've taken over the city years ago and he would've, had it not been for the Overlord. Deep down Lloyd knew he wouldn't have fought his father if that were the case. Though that doesn't matter now because it won't be much longer until he can finally have the happy family he deserved. Whether or not his mother would be welcome back in to the family was still undecided. Lloyd had not forgiven her for abandoning him and he didn't think he ever would. He guessed it would depend on what his father wanted, though he had feeling his father would not care for his mother.

With a sigh Lloyd jumped over the balcony side and made his way down. The Sons of Garmadon would be expecting him to come see the mask, or at least two of them would be waiting for him. He pulled out a box he had hidden behind a dumpster which contained a mask and an outfit of black with a hint of green. He made sure no one was around as he changed into the outfit. It was a long black coat with a hood that hung over his black and green shirt. The mask was white and was the shape of a dragon's mouth, though it only covered half his face, allowing his eyes to show. Lloyd pulled the hood on and stuffed his normal clothes into the box, hiding it again. For the final touch, he closed his eyes and focused, when he reopened them, they were a bright red, rather than his normal green. Then he made his way through the alleyways.

* * *

As he approached the Sons of Garmadon's temporary hangout, which happened to be a karaoke bar, many of the members hanging outside instantly recognized his mask and got out of the way. It wasn't everyday that the Sons of Garmadon would see their leader. Some uttered greetings and welcome backs, but Lloyd paid no attention to them. All he wanted was to see the mask. Once he saw it with his own eyes and held it, he would feel like they were truly making progress. Lloyd walked through the door and everyone turned to look at him, they grew silent. Ultraviolet, one of the three who were allowed to actually speak with him walked over.

"Quiet One, Mr. E has returned, he's waiting for you upstairs." She informed him. Lloyd nodded and wasted no time in making his way up the stairs. When he reached the top he could still feel everyone's eyes on him. He turned around and with one look everyone went back to what they were doing. He opened the door and found Mr. E with the mask. Lloyd took his own mask off and set it down. Mr. E handed over the mask to Lloyd without any hesitation. Lloyd couldn't believe the mask was finally his. Close to three years of planning and his hard work was finally paying off. The temptation to put on the mask was great but he rather be surprised in battle with what it can do.

"You did well, though I can't say the same for your team." Lloyd commented to Mr. E without taking his eyes off the mask. He walked over to the back of the room and opened a secret compartment on the wall. He placed the mask inside, not shutting it quite yet. "You're next mission you'll be going on alone since you clearly don't need a team. They seemed to only slow you down." Lloyd turned around to face Mr. E and as he did there was a knock at the door. "Come in." Lloyd called out. He knew it could only be one person. Ultraviolet walked in, she leaned against the door after closing it.

"Quiet One?" She questioned.

"Yes?" Lloyd responded. Once she realized Lloyd wasn't going to lash out, she relaxed a little and walked farther into the room.

"I figured I should let you know that many people downstairs are questioning whether the mission was a success." She warned him. "They don't believe you got the mask, since you sent out a team of six and only one returned." Lloyd hummed in response.

"Well they should have more faith in their leader, unless they'd like to find out what happens when they don't." Lloyd cautioned and turned around, revealing the Mask of Deception to her. She walked over and looked at the mask not daring to touch it.

"I have not lost faith in you, Quiet One, so no need to warn me. I knew your mission would succeed." Ultraviolet tried to assure him.

"Maybe I should give them a reason to keep trusting me." Lloyd spoke. He picked up the mask he wore as the Quiet One. "I'll be out in a minute to remind them why I'm in charge." Ultraviolet just nodded and left the room. She may be crazy but even she knew to stay on Lloyd's good side. Or as good of a side he had. Once he heard the door shut, Lloyd threw his mask and yelled in frustration. Mr. E remained unfazed by his outburst. "How could they be losing faith in me already?" Lloyd exclaimed. "A mission we've been working on for almost three years! They all knew what they'd signed up for." Lloyd continued to rant. "This was going to take time and now that we're finally making progress, they choose to question me?" Lloyd thought for a moment. It had to be just one who was feeding them all these uncertainties. They did not belong with the Sons of Garmadon anymore. He took a deep breath and brought his attention to Mr. E. "Clearly there is someone among us who doesn't deserve to be. If you spot them before I do let me know, otherwise I'll point them out to you." Lloyd informed of his plan. "And you'll get rid of them, however you please." He added with smirk. He then moved to pick up his mask and put it on. Once his mask was secure he picked up the Mask of Vengeance. They both exited the room and Mr. E went to join the crowd, keeping an eye out. Lloyd stood above watching as the other members of the Sons of Garmadon continued to party. He held up a hand and the music stopped. Everyone turned to face him.

"My brothers and sisters, as of tonight we are one step closer to our goal!" He announced and the whole room cheered as he showed them the mask. Lloyd kept his eyes trained on the room looking for the odd one out. He noticed one who happened to look surprised that he had the mask. They had to be the one and by the looks of it Mr. E had noticed too and started to close in on him. "The Mask of Vengeance is ours, leaving only two left to collect! We already know where one of them is and it won't take long to find the last." Lloyd grinned, it seemed whatever uncertainty that was among them had disappeared, if there was even much to begin with. Ultraviolet brought him a drink. He took the drink from her hand and raised it. "Tonight we celebrate and tomorrow the next phase of the plan begins!" As he lowered his drink the music started back up again. Lloyd gave Mr. E a slight nod as he had been waiting for approval. The music was loud enough that no one could hear the muffled screams as Mr. E dragged the person out, not that anyone would have intervened. Lloyd could've made an example out of the guy but he seemed to be the only one, so there was no point. Though depending on what Mr E did, they may all get a wake up call either way. Lloyd returned to his private room and locked the Mask of Vengeance up.

Lloyd didn't care what he would have to do to finish it, but nothing was going to stand in his way to complete the mission.

* * *

**And that concludes chapter 1! I feel like it was a little cringey but at the same time I really like how it came out. I'm happy with it so that's what matters most. I just hope you guys enjoyed it! And at this point I think Kai and I are pretty much writing this together so consider him the co-author of this fanfic.**

**Alright chapter 2 will be up in about a week!**

**~Vin**

_**Ya boy actually edited yet another chapter, something Vin isn't used to me doing. ~Kai**_


	3. II

**Review Responses:**

_**Browneyedace**_** So happy to hear you thought it was amazing chapter! Lloyd is best boy trying his best to be evil.**

_**The Trickiest**_** One:**** We're both happy to know you're enjoying the story so far. And yeah Lloyd didn't really think those thieves were worth wasting time on. He knew either they'd run away or the police would get them.**

**Anyways this is the longest chapter both Kai and I have ever written for a fanfic before so we hope you enjoy it! Truth be told we wanted to get the slow part out of the way and have the story start to pick up more in the next chapter.**

**Warning: underage drinking**

**~Vin**

* * *

Loud music blasted at the Karaoke Bar the Sons of Garmadon had chosen as their temporary hangout. It wasn't their base but it was somewhere to meet up when doing business in the city. Lloyd had told them they would lay low for a few days after stealing the first mask. Sure they were still allowed to go throughout the city but they weren't allowed to do anything illegal. In order to keep them happy, Lloyd had a party every night at the bar. He didn't care for the parties himself and actually stayed away for the most part.

Tonight however he decided he needed to let loose. The ninja would return tomorrow and that meant the plan would fall in to motion, he could not allow for any distractions. Lloyd was really only here for the alcohol, and this bar was the one place he knew he'd be allowed to get drunk without being carded. He had yet to meet the owner of the bar but apparently he was already scared of Lloyd. Ultraviolet had claimed the owner was a coward and a scaredy cat. But anyone would act like that if they were around her. It was no wonder they'd been allowed to stay after hearing that. Lloyd strolled inside heading straight for the bar. The Sons of Garmadon moved out of his way just like before. When he reached the bar, the bartender was crouched down, clearly not aware of his presence. Lloyd cleared his throat and the bartender stood up. Or more like jumped in fear. Lloyd had to hide his shock when he saw who the owner was, it was Dareth.

"Quiet One…" Dareth whispered. Lloyd was shocked that Dareth knew he was the Quiet One. He must've seen him around before. "What can...What can I get for you?" He asked, nervously. Lloyd touched the side of his mask to make sure the voice scrambler was active. Dareth would definitely recognize his voice and that would spell trouble for him.

"Anything." He mumbled and Dareth quickly put a shot glass on the counter, clearly scared. A moment later he pushed the glass towards Lloyd.

"Here you go." Dareth said. Lloyd took the glass.

"A beer as well." Lloyd demanded. Not even a second later there was a beer in his hand. He made his way upstairs and made sure he was out of view before removing his mask. He took the shot and placed the glass down on the table next to him. It wasn't Lloyd's first time drinking, despite only being seventeen. Most didn't know his age and those who did, well they didn't dare tell him no. Drinking allowed him to relax, though he never allowed himself to drink so much that he got drunk. Lloyd didn't know what he would do while he was drunk and he rather not find out.

He kept an eye on the crowd below. He knew very well that each person here had a reason for wanting to help him bring back his father. The reasons escaped him but in a way he was thankful for them, though he'd never say it to them. Without the Sons of Garmadon, he wouldn't be here today, in more ways than one. He took a sip of his beer before he leaned on the railing. As he did someone caught his eye. A girl walked in, wearing a mask, like most of those here, whether they were painted, tattooed or ones you put on. Lloyd knew everyone here for the most part and he had never seen this girl, mask or not. He slipped his own back on and walked down the stairs, never once taking his eyes off of her. She didn't seem lost, but she definitely didn't seem like she belonged here. Lloyd found her over at the bar, just sitting when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Well this just isn't right." He said as he sat down next to her. She jumped a little, not having noticed him. "You can't just show up to a Sons of Garmadon party and not dance or drink."

"I planned on dancing, I just wanted to get a feel for the atmosphere." She admitted to him. "I don't think I'll drink though." A song came on that Lloyd found to be upbeat enough to dance to. He stood up, placing his beer down and held his hand out to the girl.

"Join me?" He asked. To his surprise, the girl actually took his hand, so he led her into the middle of the crowd. As he did everyone moved out of his way.

"They're just moving for you?" The girl questioned. Lloyd looked back at her and nodded.

"Yeah, they're afraid of me." Lloyd told her. "They rather not be on my bad side."

"Why?" _Well she's curious, _Lloyd thought to himself

"Cause I'm crazy, insane, twisted, take your pick. They fear what I'll do to them." He shrugged and stopped moving. He pulled her in front of him. They both started to dance, though the girl danced more than Lloyd did. He watched as she danced, it was memorizing to him.

"You don't seem crazy to me." She confessed and twirled as Lloyd spun her. Lloyd laughed. _If only you knew, sweetheart_, Lloyd thought to himself.

"You've only just met me though." He reminded her. "But you also don't seem like a Son of Garmadon, especially since you don't seem to recognize me."

"I'm not." She answered, confirming his belief that he'd never seen her before. It wasn't often non-members dared to enter the bar.

"Well would you want to be?" He asked her and she stopped dancing, seemingly shocked by his question. And she had every right to be. No one just gets invited into the Sons of Garmadon. There was a whole process to joining which involved a race. But this girl didn't seem like the type to like driving motorcycles.

"Me? Really?" She asked and Lloyd nodded.

"There's a spot open to be my number one girl." He joked a little and the girl laughed.

"What an offer, I'll have to think on it." She said and resumed her dancing. Lloyd nodded. He didn't expect her to say yes right off the bat but he had hoped.

"So what brought you here then?" He figured he might as well find out what he can about her. That is if she would even give up any information.

"I needed to get away from home, too many rules, not enough freedom." The girl sighed. It made him wonder where she came from if this was the place she chose to escape to.

"Well we only have one rule here." He tried to encourage her to join.

"And what's that?"

"Everyone obeys me or faces the consequences." He explained. She might as well know now that he runs this place.

"So you are the leader?" She had so many questions. Lloyd nodded.

"I am the Quiet One."

"Mysterious, but you're not very quiet." She pointed out and Lloyd rolled his eyes but not in an annoyed way.

"I'm quiet except for those who I choose to speak to." He told her. Mr. E tapped Lloyd's shoulder. Lloyd gave him an annoyed look but nodded. He turned back to the girl. "You seem like you'd fit in here, the offer will still stand until you refuse it. Come back whenever you'd like." He leaned in and covered her eyes while at the same time removing his mask. He placed a kiss on her cheek. "See you around." He whispered in her ear so only she could hear his real voice. He placed his mask back on and removed his hand but her eyes stayed closed for a moment longer. By the time she opened them, Lloyd was already walking up the stairs. The girl gave one last look before slipping out the door. Lloyd watched as she left before entering the room and slamming the door shut.

"This better be important." Lloyd demanded. Mr. E spoke but it was robotic and did not sound like actual words. Only Lloyd could understand him. "They added more security at the Palace? And the Emperor plans to give a speech?" Lloyd questioned and then sighed. "That's not going to do. They need to ask the ninja for help." Lloyd the for a moment before turning to Mr. E. "See to it personally that more threats are made toward the Royal family. I need to get into the Palace of Secrets or we'll never find that mask." Lloyd instructed. Mr. E nodded and gave a slight bow before leaving the room. "I will get into that Palace whether I'm invited or not."

* * *

It had been three days since the Sons of Garmadon had stolen the Mask of Vengeance and their plan to steal the next one would be put into motion today. The second mask, the Mask of Deception was located in the Palace of Secrets. No one had ever been in there except for the Royal family themselves. In order to get this mask, they would need to know exactly where it is inside. Lloyd was hoping the Royal family would ask for the ninja's protection after the first mask was stolen but he'd still heard nothing. So in order to move things along, he asked Hutchins, the Master at Arms and Counsel to the Royal family, to meet him and the ninja at Borg Industries, which was where he was on his way to right now. If they still weren't asked for help then the Sons of Garmadon would have to go in blind. Either way there would be a full on assault on the Palace, it would just be easier if they knew where the mask was being kept.

Lloyd walked through the door and found the rest of the ninja already waiting for him. Their faces lit up when they saw him.

"There he is, about time you showed up." Kai greeted him and pulled him into a half hug. Lloyd put on a smile as they all ran over to him.

"Thanks for meeting me here, guys." Lloyd said. "I know it's been a while since we were all last together."

"Well not all of us," Nya pointed out. "Your mother, have you heard from her?" Lloyd sighed.

"No, not a word since she went looking for Master Wu." He answered. He had to hide the bitterness behind his words. Not only had his mother abandoned him again, but she had done so in order to find his Uncle who was lost to time. It hurt him greatly to know that she much rather find his uncle than his father. "I don't know where she's gone." He lied and shook his head. Lloyd had located his mother a month ago. He someone from the Sons if Garmadon keeping an eye on her. There was a chance he may need her later. "But that doesn't matter. We have a bigger problem on our hands." He reminded them to the reason hae had called them here. Lloyd pulled out his phone and brought up the symbol for the Sons of Garmadon. He turned it so the ninja could see. They all gasped.

"That's your father! But it's him as Lord Garmadon." Cole pointed out. Lloyd nodded.

"After the robbery, I did some digging around to find out who they are." Lloyd started. "They call themselves the Sons of Garmadon and they're a rapidly growing criminal gang. Almost seventy-two hours ago, the Sons of Garmadon stole a mask that was kept here in Borg Industries. It's supposedly a powerful relic." Lloyd explained.

"It's not just a mask or supposedly a relic. It is a powerful Oni mask." A new voice spoke. Lloyd turned and saw Mr. Hutchins approaching the group. "There are only three of them here in Ninjago. Each embodying an Oni warlord."

"Everyone," Lloyd grabbed their attention again. "This is Mr. Hutchins. He is the Master at arms and counsel to the Royal family. I asked him to come here, after I tried to find out more about the mask." The ninja gasped and quietly mumbled about someone from the Palace, royalty or not, standing before them.

"So what's the trouble they can cause with one?" Cole asked, once they had all collected themselves.

"The mask they stole is powerful by itself but nowhere near as bad as the other two." Hutchins explained. Lloyd knew everything that he was saying, he had done his own research over the past few years. However he didn't like that the ninja were learning so much about the masks. He hadn't expected Hutchins to provide this much information about them. As long as he didn't say what putting all three masks together would do, his plan would be fine. They didn't need to know that

"Let me guess, something very bad will happen if all three are reunited." Jay asked. Lloyd wanted to groan in annoyance, of course one of them would ask that.

"I, myself, am not sure what will happen if the masks reunited but I do know that whoever wields all three will have immense power." Hutchins admitted. Kai stepped forward.

"That's all I need to hear to know that we can't let the Sons of Garmadon get the other two masks." He stated and the others nodded in agreement.

"Well then you should know that hidden in the Palace is one of the Oni masks, the Mask of Deception to be precise." Hutchins informed them. "The Emperor will be delivering a public speech but I fear the Sons of Garmadon will take that as an opportunity to steal the mask. We could use the protection of the Ninja." Lloyd had to hide his smile. His plan was once again making progress, he may not have been invited into the Palace yet, but he was one step closer. "All you have to do is keep your presence unknown."

"We are ninja, after all." Nya pointed out. "Consider us invisible."

"We'll be there." Lloyd confirmed to Mr. Hutchins. This was the chance Lloyd needed to get into the Palace. He hadn't been invited in to it yet but if things went well during the speech then there was a chance.

The ninja had gotten into their positions for the speech. Nya remained amongst the crowd in civilian attire, while the boys were scattered around in the shadows. So far nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, well to at least five of the ninja. Lloyd knew otherwise. Somewhere in the crowd was a member of the Sons of Garmadon, all they had to do was cause a scene. The plan was rushed and there was no telling if it would work but he was desperate to get into the Palace of Secrets.

_The Previous Night, In the Sons of Garmadon's Hideout…_

"Quiet One, how do you plan on getting into the Palace?" Ultraviolet questioned as she paced back and forth in front Lloyd. "You know you have my faith but you've simply been invited to be a protection detail, outside the Palace might I add." She said. Lloyd shot her a look.

"I'm very aware," He snapped. "Which is why I've come up with a plan." Lloyd assured her. "You're right I haven't been invited into the Palace but what better way to be invited than by saving the Royal family from a supposed attack."

"I'm listening." She said as she twirled her knife. Lloyd sat forward in his chair.

"Pick out whoever you think can hide in the crowd during the speech," Lloyd began to explain. "Towards the end of the speech, tell them to set off anything that would mimic the sound of an attack and to leave the symbol of the Sons of Garmadon." Ultraviolet nodded. "They have to take it as warning from us that we're watching and we know they have the mask."

"Say this plan works, how does that mean you'll get invited in?" She continued to question him. If she hadn't dedicated the last few years to his service, this conversation would ending very differently because of all her questions.

"I've heard word that a certain Jade Princess has crush on the Green Ninja, why wouldn't she want to invite him in after he saves her life." Lloyd smiled and leaned back in his chair smugly.

"Fair point," Ultraviolet agreed. "I'll make sure everything is ready for tomorrow."

"Good. Don't let me down."

_Present time…_

Lloyd stood off to the side, behind a pillar. He was somewhat close to the Royal Family but far enough away that they wouldn't notice him. Or so he thought, he happened to see that the Princess was looking directly in his direction, whether she could actually see him or not was a mystery to him. She smiled at him so he guessed she must've seen him. He looked away and hid himself behind the pillar better. The ninja, however, believed it was the other way around, that he was staring at her.

"I think Lloyd has an eye for the Princess." Kai commented over the comms, which grabbed Lloyd's attention. Lloyd rolled his eyes, he didn't have an eye for anyone. He had more important things to deal with.

"You do remember I can hear you, right?" Lloyd asked them. "Let's just focus on our job and less on who's looking at who. Keep your eyes peeled, look for anything out of the ordinary." Lloyd reminded them. He pretended to look around just as the Emperor was finishing up his speech. He had half expected the fake attack to happen by now. If Ultraviolet had let him down, there were going to be serious consequences whether or not he'd blame her would be decided later. People began to cheer signaling the end of the speech. She had never let him down in the past so for her to do so for something like this was surprising. But that's when he saw it and relief flooded through him. A balloon rose up with the symbol for the Sons of Garmadon. "I see something!" Lloyd exclaimed and just as he did, there were several popping noises. The crowd erupted in screams and the people began to run around frantically. Lloyd took this moment to run to the Royal Family and shield them from the "attack".

"Its safe." Nya called over the comms. "Just some firecrackers." She confirmed that there was no real threat. Hutchins escorted the Royal Family back behind the door before turning to Lloyd.

"You and your friends did well protecting the Royal Family, they express their gratitude." He thanked them. "They have also invited you to be their guests inside the Palace." Hutchins then informed them. Next step of the mission; get inside the Palace was a success. Lloyd was one step closer to the second mask. One step closer to his father.

"Are you sure they meant us?" Jay asked. "Because I mean nobody gets invited into the Palace." Lloyd stepped in front of him.

"We'd be honored." Lloyd quickly said. He wasn't going to allow any of them to mess this up. He wouldn't get a second chance to get into the Palace, this was his one shot.

* * *

Hutchins led them through the Palaxe tocthe throne. He explained things here and there about the Palace itself. Nya was least impressed of them all. The others were star struck just being inside. Hutchins opened a grand door, leading the ninja inside.

"I present to you the Emperor and Empress of Ninjago and their daughter The Jade Princess, Harumi." He finished and bowed to them. He continued to lead the ninja forward to a certain point. Once they stopped each of them bowed, though Lloyd had to give Nya a nudge in order to get her to bow.

"We are honored to meet you." The Emperor began.

"Please, the honor is ours." Lloyd stated. The Princess stepped forward towards them, a smile present on her face.

"I have read so much about your adventures, I have no doubt, that you will all become legends." She complimented them and walked over to Kai. One by one she expressed how she saw each of them. Nya received the best compliment, she seemed to be the Princess' hero. Then she finally reached Lloyd. "And Lloyd, the Green Ninja, the most powerful protector of Ninjago." Lloyd bowed to her.

"Thank you for inviting us into the Palace." Lloyd said to the Emperor.

"It was actually our daughter who did, she believes we will be safer with you here until the threat is over." The Emperor explained. "As long as we possess an Oni mask we fear that our lives may be in danger."

"We will stay as long as you need us too." Lloyd responded with another bow. The Princess smiled with relief.

"Then Mr. Hutchins will show you the Palace and where you will be staying." She informed them. "We are very greatful you've agreed to stay."

Hutchins gave the ninja a tour of the Palace or at least of what he could show them. Lloyd was trailing behind the others as Mr. Hutchins explained the rules of being the Palace, though he didn't really care to listen. He was more focused on finding any and all access points in the Palace. Lloyd wanted a backup plan incase things went haywire and he had to steal the mask himself. There were several high windows he could definitely use to escape though hehoped everything would go according to the plan this time and he wouldn't need to improvise.

"Psst, Lloyd." Nya whispered to him, he nodded to her. "I get the feeling this guy is hiding something. Please tell me you feel it too."

"He definitely is." Lloyd agreed. And he was being serious, right from the start, something felt off about Hutchins. "We should keep an eye on him." Lloyd cautioned her. Though that was more to protect himself because Hutchins was no Son of Garmadon but whatever he was up to, Lloyd didn't need him interfering with his own plans. They both ran to catch up with the others.

"And finally the reason you are in the first place," Hutchins gestured to a mask behind glass. "The Mask of Deception." Lloyd pretty much had to stop himself from running to the mask right then and there. To be this close to it and not be able to do anything was practically torture. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that it would soon be in his possession, it was only a matter of time. He would, however have to wait until later to put the tracker on it. He may know where it is but that wouldn't do any good for those on the outside.

"What was the name of the one at Borg Industries?" Nya asked.

"The Mask of Vengeance." Hutchins answered.

"So if Borg had one, and the Royal family has one, then who has the third?" Cole asked. _Good question_, Lloyd thought. The Sons of Garmadon had still not located it. Well that wasn't entirely true. They knew the general area of where to look but it was extremely dangerous.

"No one knows where the Mask of Hatred is." Zane answered. "Though I doubt that will stop the Sons of Garmadon from trying to find it." Zane was right about that but it wasn't like he could tell him that. Lloyd began to look around the room. He noticed the cameras all looking at the mask, which meant he could not steal the mask without revealing that he was with the Sons of Garmadon, he would have to trust Mr. E to do it. Though he had no problem with that. As he was looking around, he saw an open door nearby. After he made sure Hutchins wasn't looking he snuck away from the group. Taking a quick peek inside, he realized it was the Princess' room. She noticed him in her mirror and gave him a quick smile before looking away, while hiding the fact that she was blushing. Lloyd wanted to roll his eyes but didn't and simply walked back over to the group.

"I expect you to keep eyes on the mask at all times." Hutchins commented, looking between all of them.

"Don't worry, we won't let the mask out of our sight." Lloyd assured him and the others nodded. "It's safe under our protection."

"Very well I'll leave you to it then." Hutchins said and walked away.

"Alright, team, listen up." Lloyd started. "We're going to need eyes everywhere, not just on the mask. Two or three of us need to be outside while the others stay in here and guard the mask." Lloyd explained. "Any volunteers?"

"I'll go outside." Nya answered.

"Me too." Kai said. Lloyd nodded.

"Alright the rest of us will stay here." Lloyd stated. "Remember to stay hidden out there." He reminded Nya and Kai. They gave him a thumbs up as they walked away.

Jay, Cole and Zayn had gone to check out the buffet, leaving Lloyd alone with the mask. This was his only opportunity to put the tracker on it. He circled around behind it and placed the tracker out of view of the cameras and activated it. After that he pressed a button on a hidden device located on his wrist, alerting Mr. E that the tracker had been activated. Soon the Mask of Deception would be his and he would no longer have to look at it behind glass. Once this mask was secure, he could devote his attention to finding the third and final mask.

The sound of something shattering pulled his attention away from the mask though. He walked over to the Princess' room. Maybe she had knocked something over.

"Princess?" He called out before entering the dark room. She was nowhere to be found but the room was a mess. He ran over to the window which was slightly ajar. Lloyd looked around for the any sign of the Princess. He then spotted someone running across the roofs carrying a bad. He knew he'd have to go after the intruder so he jumped off the balcony and ran after them. As he got closer though the intruder seemed to notice they were being followed. They stopped and looked around giving Lloyd a clear view of who they were. To his surprise it was the Princess. "Sneaking out, huh? I wonder where she's going." He mumbled to himself.

He continued to follow after her, keeping his distance. Lloyd would have to make sure she stayed safe especially if he wanted to stay in the Palace. As they kept going, the Princess paused and adjusted the bag she was carrying. It was in that moment that someone attacked her. The Princess let out a scream as she was knocked over. Lloyd wasted no time in rushing to her side. He pulled the attacker off the Princess and threw them against the wall.

"If it's her you're after, then you're going to have to go through me first." Lloyd stated and kept himself between the Princess and attacker. He waited to see if they would make the first move and they did. He was able to counter every punch and kick they threw, he even got a few hits in himself. But then he was caught off guard when he saw the symbol on the attacker's back. They belonged to the…

_Sons of Garmadon._

That was all the attacker needed to kick Lloyd. This caused him to stumble backwards and fall off the roof. He reached out for the ledge but missed it. He was falling to his death.

* * *

_**Not much of a cliffhanger, I know but just hold on, the story will get more interesting soon! We have lots planned for this story, even though it seems like its just following the original plot of the season I can assure you its not going to.**_

_**Well that's all I've got, I don't usually make author's notes. new chapter will be up in a week! **_

_**~Kai**_


	4. III

**This chapter is quite a few days late and we're so sorry about that! We both ran into a few distractions, but we both hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Review Responses:**

**Browneyedace: Lloyd would never let himself die, not when he's this close to getting the masks. Also glad to hear you think the story is amazing!**

**Milleniumbreaker12: No worries, we don't plan on stopping this story! We love evil Lloyd, he's best boy. Also it's so amazing to hear you think this is one of the best evil Lloyd fics!**

**KyraPlays: Where do I begin? You're review really made me smile and I had to show it to Kai almost immediately. We're both so happy to post this for the Ninjago fandom. We weren't expecting many people to like it at first. **

**~Vin**

**_And thank you as well for reading our story! Thank you to all of you!_**

**_~Kai_**

**Now on with the story!**

* * *

Lloyd's breath caught in his throat as a hand caught his wrist. He looked up and saw the Princess. He grabbed her wrist as she started to pull him back up. Lloyd used the ledge to hoist himself back up onto the roof.

"Thank you, Princess." He said and sat down, catching his breath.

"I should be thanking you, if it weren't you...well, I don't want to think about why that thug was after me." She shivered and got quieter towards the end. Lloyd stood up.

"My guess, is he was sent to scare your family or maybe use you to bargain for the mask." Lloyd replied even though none of that was true. The Sons of Garmadon shouldn't have gone after her at all. The fact that they did really pissed him off. He had gotten an ok look at the one who attacked the Princess, so he was sure he'd recognize whoever it was. His main concern was if this person was following orders or if they did this on their own. That would surely decide who Lloyd would yell at later or kill, depending on how he was feeling.

"You really think so?" The Princess asked, fear written in her face. Lloyd nodded.

"I think they'll do anything to get the mask." Lloyd admitted and that wasn't a lie. He really didn't care what he would have to do to get that goddamn mask. If ended up kidnapping the Princess, then so be it. "So what are you doing outside of the Palace?" He asked. The Princess grabbed the bag she had been carrying and opened it, revealing that it was full of food.

"I'm helping the poor." She gave him a sad smile. "I can't do much trapped behind the Palace walls, so being able to bring them the leftover food makes me feel like I'm doing something." She explains her reasoning for doing this. Lloyd nodded.

"That's really nice that you sneak out to help those in need." He commented and that brought a smile to her face. "It's dangerous for you to do so." He added and her face fell. "But you've got a bodyguard for the night so I don't seem the harm in helping you." Her smile returned.

"The Princess is gone!" A voice shouted from the Palace. Lloyd and the Princess both looked over towards that direction. They could see Hutchins standing on her balcony, shouting at the guards.

"They can't know I snuck out." She passed him a sweatshirt she had pulled from a clothes line. "Will you disguise yourself? Please?" Lloyd nodded and put the sweatshirt on without any hesitation.

"At least we have the excuse that you were attacked by the Sons of Garmadon." Lloyd reminded her. She smiled at him and they made their way down from the roof. They continued through different alleyways until they reached what was considered the poorer part of the city. "How often do you come out here?" Lloyd asked.

"As often as I can." She replied. Lloyd looked around at all the people. There were so many, more than he imagined there would be. "A majority of those here are here because of the past attacks on the city. From the Overlord to the Great Devourer." The Princess explained. Lloyd thought back to those battles. The city was devastated after the Great Devourer but the Overlord didn't destroy much that day. Well not enough that he had thought about it. The Great Devourer however has taken down multiple buildings. The Princess passed out some food as they walked. Eventually they came to a stop and she set the bag down. A few children came running over and she gladly handed them as much food as they wanted.

"Here, let me help." Lloyd offered and grabbed some food to hand out. The children swarmed the Princess, they all called her by her first name. They must get excited every time she visited with food. Thought none of them seemed to acknowledge she was the Princess, or maybe they just didn't care.

"Don't worry there's more than enough for everyone, as always." The Princess smiled at the children. Once the bag was empty, she rolled up the bag and they continued to walk. Lloyd had rather not be out here with the Princess right now, but he would put up with her, better to keep her happy, so he can stay in the Palace. He had planned to set up some blast zap tonight, not keep an eye on her. He'd still have time to do it later so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

"From what I've observed so far it doesn't sound like you enjoy being a princess." Lloyd stated. The Princess stopped walking for a moment and gave a little sigh.

"To be honest it's not all that fun being a princess, sure it has its perks but I have a destiny, a duty that I have to fulfill." She explained. "That part...well it isn't fun. There are rules that prevent me from having the freedom I so wish to have."

"You wouldn't believe me but I understand how you feel." Lloyd admitted to her. She stopped and faced him.

"No, I believe you. You're the Green Ninja after all. Your destiny was decided the moment you were born." The Princess agreed with him. "We both have role to fulfill, me as the Princess who stays in the palace and you the hero who watches over the city I will someday rule." Lloyd wanted to laugh at the hero part. He may have the title of hero but he wasn't one or at least he wouldn't be much longer. He would soon show them that he was the best villain Ninjago would ever face.

"We've never been given a choice about our lives." Lloyd sighed and then turned to look at the Princess. "If you were given the choice to live a normal life, would you take it?"

"In a heartbeat." She answered instantly. He would keep that in mind, should she survive the attack tomorrow, maybe, just maybe he could convince her to join him. She would make a great pawn to this game of his.

"Me too." He whispered. A commotion nearby caught their attention. A small group from the Sons of Garmadon were ganging up on some people. This didn't surprise Lloyd, he let them run rampant as long as they didn't jeopardize his mission. Pestering the people of the city seemed to entertain them and keep them out of trouble. The Princess with a determined look, started to walk over to them but Lloyd stopped her. She turned around surprised that he had done so.

"We should go, it's not safe for you here." He explained and nodded towards the few gang members. "The Sons of Garmadon attacked you once already, let's not give them another chance." He advised her. The Princess looked ready to argue with him.

"But those people need help." She claimed. She wasn't wrong, those people could use help but he also couldn't let them see the Princess. If she got hurt or worse, him and the ninja would be thrown out of the palace quicker than they could blink.

"Look at them," he gestured towards them. "They're just the thugs of the group, those people will be fine." Lloyd lied. He had no idea what their intentions were, whether they were looking to steal or were or for blood. He never bothered to keep track of what they did, he didn't care.

"You're right, they're probably just following orders, the person who gives them is the one I fear." She quietly mumbled the last part. So she feared him? That was interesting to know, since no one outside of the gang knew of his existence as the leader.

"That makes sense," He reassured her. "I mean whoever it is, is threatening your family." This could change his plan of getting her to join him. He'd have to somehow get her to see that she didn't need to fear him even though she really should. Bright headlights blinded them and Lloyd instinctively pulled the Princess behind him. "Or Samurai X can take care of them." He mumbled. Samurai X was a nuisance, one he would take care of eventually. Lloyd had a plan for what to do with them because he knew exactly who they were. Samurai X jumped out from their car and landed in front of the Sons of Garmadon members.

"Back away from them." They demanded while pulling out their sword aiming at the Sons of Garmadon. The thugs looked scared.

"Oh shit!" One shouted. They all took off running, leaving those they were tormenting alone. Lloyd wanted to face palm. Those guys were a part of the Sons of Garmadon and they were scared of Samurai X? He knew they were dedicated to his cause but sometimes they were useless when it came to fighting.

"Do you know who samurai x is?" The Princess asked him after said person left. Lloyd shook his head.

"I wish I did, Princess." He lied. "I'd want to thank them for helping when we could not." No one needed to know that he knew Samurai X's identity. And the only reason he knew was because he accidentally stumbled upon them without their helmet on. At the time Lloyd had promised to keep their secret but eventually the others would figure it out.

"Rumi is fine, by the way. You don't have to call me Princess when it's just us." Harumi approves with a smile. Lloyd smiled back, it seemed the Princess was finally starting to trust him more, which would work to his advantage should he need it.

"Alright then, Rumi." Lloyd responded.

"Lloyd, I didn't know if I should say this earlier, but your voice sounds familiar." Rumi admitted quietly. Lloyd gave her a confused look and she continued. "We've never met before today though, but someone I spoke with their voice sounds just like yours."

"As far as I know, we haven't." Lloyd confirmed her belief. He knew for a fact that they had never met before and he didn't recognize her voice. "Maybe there's someone who has similar voice to me." He suggested.

"Maybe." She agreed. After a moment of silence, Lloyd sighed and looked around.

"I think it's time we get you back to the Palace." He said. "They are out looking for you after all."

"I agree." Hutchins spoke and the two of them jumped. He walked over to the Princess. "Do you understand how dangerous it is for you to be out here, Your Highness?" He asked her. Princess Harumi started to stutter, trying to find an answer.

"She was kidnapped by a son of garmadon." Lloyd quickly defended her. "I rescued her and we hid until I thought it was safe. Samurai x just scared off the rest of them." He hoped Hutchins would believe him, for the most part it was the truth. "We were about to head back as you just heard."

"I see, then you have my gratitude for keeping her safe. However I must insist she return with me at once." He thanked Lloyd but turned back to the Princess. "Your parents are very worried, Your Highness." Harumi nodded.

"I understand." She said. "I'll see you back at the palace, Lloyd." A hopeful smile on her face as she turned to follow after Hutchins, leaving him standing there. Lloyd felt that Hutchins didn't really trust him and he was right not to but he needed him to. He's saved someone from the Royal Family twice and that still wasn't enough in his eyes. It wouldn't matter after tomorrow night, however. Lloyd took off the sweatshirt he was wearing and started to make his way back to the palace.

* * *

Lloyd decided to take watch outside by himself for the rest of the night, giving Nya and Kai a chance to rest. At least that's what he told the others. His real intentions were to contact Mr. E, to make sure everything was on schedule, that Sons of Garmadon were ready for the fight. In twelve hours the attack would commence, the mask was only hours away at this point. Lloyd climbed up on to the roof of the Palace, he knew no one would find him or hear him.

"I want everything ready to go an hour before the attack." Lloyd instructed. "If anything goes wrong tonight, everything I've worked for will be lost. This is the mask we won't get a second chance to steal." Lloyd continued. "Have Ultra Violet remind everyone that if this goes wrong, there will be extreme consequences. Do not fail me, I'd hate to have to replace you." He finished explains. "Also another thing, someone attacked the Princess tonight, find out who it is and bring them to me." After Lloyd said that, he cut the transmission and sat down. The sun was beginning to rise which meant the others would be up soon. That left Lloyd with a limited amount of time to set up the blast zap. There was a map of all the secret passages in the Palace, that he had found a few years ago. It was in an old temple that was filled with old artifacts about the Oni. Because of it he map however, he knew the perfect place to set the blast zap and where to stand in the palace so he wouldn't get hurt by the blast.

Lloyd had hid the blast zap just outside the wall of the Palace. He waited until no guards were around and quickly climbed over the wall, grabbing the two bags of blast zap. He then climbed back over just as quickly. With what little shadows he had, Lloyd snuck through the Palace garden to the secret passage under a rock. He would be able to place most of the blast zap here, the rest he would put elsewhere to make it easier for the Sons of Garmadon could get in from all sides. It took him about an hour but Lloyd had finally set up all the blast zaps. For the final touch he pulled out a robotic snake and placed it down.

"You know what to do, my friend." He whispered and activated it. The snake slithered away, deep into the tunnels where it would lay dormant until Lloyd activated it. It's one purpose; detonate the blast zap. He hurried out of the passage and moved the rock back into place. No one would ever see the attack coming. He would finally start to get his revenge tonight.

"Morning, Lloyd." A voice called over the comms, drawing him from his thoughts.

"Good morning, Nya." He answered.

"Wanna join us for some sparring before breakfast?" She asked. He could hear someone shouting in the background, it was most likely Kai, though he couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a moment." Lloyd answered and started to walk over there. It wasn't too far from the garden so he took his time. The Palace of Secrets was such a beautiful place, he hated that he would have to ruin but there was always the chance of rebuilding it. As long as the Temple of Resurrection did not get destroyed he didn't care what would have to be rebuilt. After all his father and him would need a place to live and the palace would be perfect. Lloyd reached the training yard and realized he was the first one there. He sat down in the middle of the area and began to meditate. Though he seemed calm, he was extremely nervous but did not want to have any chance of showing it. He knew if he did this for even just a moment he would be calm all day. Lloyd wasn't alone for much longer as he sensed someone walking up from behind, they were attempting to be quiet but he could still hear them. He quickly pulled out his sword and blocked the incoming attack.

"And here I thought you might be sleeping." Kai laughed. He backed off and Lloyd put his weapon away. "I'm always shocked at how quick your reflexes are."

"What would you have done if I wasn't that fast?" Lloyd asked.

"I wouldn't have hurt you, if that's what you're implying." Kai answered. "What do you say we spar though? First two here, might as well." Lloyd stood up.

"I'm surprised you're even awake, Kai." Lloyd joked and Kai laughed.

"If it were any other day I'd still be in bed, but we promised the Royal family we'd protect them and I can't do that if I'm asleep." Kai explained. He had definitely changed the most since Lloyd met him. At first Lloyd saw him as a selfish prick but Kai had definitely matured and understood what it meant to truly be a ninja. Though that didn't lessen Lloyd's anger towards him and the others. He never did learn to fully like them, he more or less put up with them still. Though Nya was a different story, she was truly like a sister to him. She had been the only one to like him and treat him like a person from the start.

"You're right about that." Lloyd got in a fighting stance. "Ready?" Kai nodded. They began to swing their weapons at each other, but not strong enough that they could injure the other. Lloyd never used to spar with the ninja often, he liked to train by himself but he realized he would end up fighting them once they figured out who he was. This was the perfect way to make sure he knew how each one fought. Of course one would think that would work in the ninja's favor as well but Lloyd was careful to keep most of his techniques to himself. The ninja didn't know to do that.

"So," Kai started. "You and the Princess were caught outside the Palace last night." He raised his eyebrows at Lloyd with a smirk. Lloyd rolled rolled his eyes. Of course his first thought was that him and the Princess went on a date.

"It wasn't like that." Lloyd answered. "I heard a noise come from the Princess' room. I found her room ransacked and her missing. When I looked out the window I saw her getting attacked by someone. That person ended up being from Sons of Garmadon." He explained. He didn't need any of them thinking he had a crush on the Princess.

"Oh, so you definitely don't like her then?" Kai questioned as he dove to the side out of Lloyd's range.

"No, I don't."

"That's not what it looked like yesterday." A new voice said and Lloyd turned around just in time to block Nya's sword. What was with everyone trying to surprise attack him. The others were trailing behind her. "I saw how you looked at her during the speech."

"I'd rather keep this professional, we are trying to protect her family." Lloyd stated and went back to sparring with Kai. "Whatever you saw, you must've imagined."

"I'm just messing with you," Nya joked and ruffled his hair. That was something she had done since he was only ten and she had told she would continue to do it, regardless of how old he got. "Besides I think she likes you."

"Even if I did like her, it wouldn't work, she's royalty and I'm a ninja." Lloyd stopped for a moment and looked at Nya. "I doubt she'd even be allowed to date someone like me."

"You won't know until you ask her." Nya pointed out with a wink as Lloyd was knocked on to his back. He looked up and saw Kai standing there smugly.

"I win."

"Let's have a rematch."

* * *

Lloyd walked by the throne room and overheard the Royal family speaking. He stopped and hid behind the wall. He had been on his way to talk to Harumi about last night but it seemed she was already talking with her parents.

"Harumi, we are grateful the Green Ninja saved your life last night but you should've come straight home after that. You can't just go around with some ninja!" The Emperor scolded her. Lloyd winced a little. _Some ninja_, he thought, _I'm the Green Ninja_.

"But he isn't just some ninja!" Harumi argued back. "He's the ninja that saved my life."

"Regardless, as the Princess of Ninjago you have a role to play. We all do. Please do not forget that yours means you stay in the Palace." The Emperor continued to reprimand her. Lloyd realized Harumi wasn't lying when she said she had a role to live up to as well.

"You can't let anything interfere, even your heart." The Empress softly explained.

"I am sorry. I have dishonored our name. If I may be excused." Harumi finally spoke as she quickly walked out into the hall. She paused as she saw Lloyd and opened her mouth to say something but stopped. He eyes darted to behind him and then she continued to walk away. Lloyd turned around and saw Hutchins approaching.

"You must keep your distance from her." He coldly stated. "We can't have any feelings developing between the two of you."

"I plan to keep this strictly professional." Lloyd responded. "I know my place. I'm just a ninja." He told Hutchins exactly what he wanted to hear.

"There's something off about you, Green Ninja." Hutchins commented as he walked around Lloyd.

"I can assure you there isn't, Mr. Hutchins." This wasn't the time for him to start to get suspicious of Lloyd. Though everything had been set for tonight it still would be better if he remained in the palace.

"Maybe not right now, but last night when I found you two, you didn't seem all there. I'll be keeping an eye on you." Hutchins concluded and walked into the throne room as Nya walked over.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"I get the feeling he doesn't trust me all that much." Lloyd told her. She ruffled his hair and then pulled him along with her.

"Well that's stupid, I mean after the countless times you've saved Ninjago with us why wouldn't he trust you." She laughed and Lloyd shrugged.

"He said I seemed off to him." He explained. "Whatever that's supposed to mean."

"I wouldn't take it to heart, he doesn't know you like we do." Nya told him. "Besides you seem normal to me."

"Yeah I guess, so did you need me for something?" He asked and she nodded as they continued down the hall. Lloyd wasn't even sure where they were going , he was just mindlessly following her.

"We're going over the plan for protecting the palace tonight." Nya started. "Just the basics of who's going to be where. Kai and I can probably team up again outside. Last night gave me time to pester him." She joked and Lloyd laughed. Even though she was the younger sister, Nya seemed to pester Kai more than he pestered her.

"Just make sure you're keeping an eye out for trouble while doing that." He reminded her and she rolled her eyes.

"It's as if you don't me that well, I can pester him while I keep watch." She smiled. They both laughed.

* * *

The ninja were back to patrolling around the palace. Nya and Kai we're outside the front, Cole was on the roof and Jay and Zane were with the mask. Lloyd was just walking through the halls. He was on his way to join Zane and Jay. He kept checking the time because the attack would be commencing soon. A sudden static picked up on the comms as one of them tried to speak.

"Guys I was snooping…found…zap!" Cole spoke over the comms. He was cutting in and out but if Lloyd was guessing correctly, it sounded like Cole had found the hidden blast zap. This wad be bad, he'd have to set it off now or the ninja would have the chance to take it down and get rid of it. There were ten minutes before the attack was supposed to start but it would have to do. If Mr. E followed his instructions, then the Sons of Garmadon were outside the Palace waiting for the first explosion to go off.

"What was that Cole?" Jay asked as Lloyd frantically ran for a place to hide just for a moment. He needed to activate the snake and tell it to detonate the blast zap. Cole could be taking the blast zap down as he sat there.

"The palace is going to explode! We need to evacuate it!" Cole shouted, his voice coming in clearly over the comms. If his voice was coming clearly then he must have left the secret passage, that was a good sign.

"We need to get to the Royal Family now!" Kai shouted as well. They were outside the palace, Lloyd knew they wouldn't make it to them in time. He pulled back his sleeve revealing a device on his wrist. He pressed a button on it, activating the snake. In just seconds the palace would explode. Lloyd then pressed a different button.

"Mr. E, Ultra Violet, the blast zap was discovered, I am setting them off now, be ready." Lloyd quickly instructed and cut the transmission, not even giving them a chance to respond. The Palace shook as several explosions went off, many screams could be heard nearby. Lloyd smirked and came out of hiding, the attack had begun.

* * *

**_You're doing great sweetie! I believe in you, Lloyd! Evil Lloyd is best Lloyd and I will die for him. _**

**_Next chapter will be out on the 16th or 17th and it will be on time! It was my fault it wasn't this time! My bad! _**

**_Also finally got a cover for this fic, I designed it myself! Of course with my luck it would cut out my name on the cover. I'll probably ix it eventually._**

**_Ok yeaaaah that's it hahaha_**

**_~Kai_**


	5. IV

**Review Responses:**

**_Browneyedace:_ Thank you for the nice review! And I think even we're excited for when Lloyd reveals himself! One of us might have already written it.**

_**('Twas me ~Kai)**_

**_Milenuimbreaker12:_ _Evil Lloyd shall rule all!_**

_**~Kai**_

**_Llorumiforever:_ We're so happy to hear we're in your top three favorite authors! That honestly is such a nice thing to know.**

**_DrWhovia:_ _There is going to be so much betrayal. And who doesn't love a good villain story?_**

_**~Kai**_

**_Lovetv2019:_ Glad to hear you think it's a good story with Lloyd as the Quiet One! **

**So sorry for the wait! Enjoy the chapter!**

_**Warning: mentions of blood and a somewhat graphic scenes (I rather be safe than sorry)**_

The palace shook and people screamed as the last of the blast zap went off. The Sons of Garmadon had successfully made it into the Palace of Secrets and soon enough the Mask of Deception would theirs. Lloyd ran down the hallway, unsheathing his sword. He decided while no one was around that he'd have a little fun helping the Sons of Garmadon. The guards that happened to be near him would be his first victims of the night.

"Oh thank god it's one of the ninja!" One of them said as they spotted Lloyd. "Focus on the Royal Family, we'll take care of anyone who tries to get through the door." One of them yelled to him. Lloyd didn't respond, he rushed to them and killed the first one without any hesitation. The other other two stood there for a moment before looking up at Lloyd who was flicking the blood off his sword.

"Oh my god…" Another whispered as they both started to back up.

"What's the matter?" Lloyd asked darkly. "Don't want to fight me?" He laughed and attacked the second one who blocked his sword. "Not bad." Lloyd commented. "But it won't save you. I'm much more skilled." The third guard took this chance to run and warn the others. Lloyd quickly noticed and shoved the guard away with a kick. He then threw his sword, instantly killing the poor man. Two down, one left. Lloyd had hoped the the last guard hadn't gotten far and he was right as he rounded the corner. Using spinjitzu, he easily caught up with the third one, killing him from behind. As he approached the next hallway, he found many more guards, too many for him to take on alone. He would have to let the Sons of Garmadon do the rest.

"Does anyone have eyes on the Princess?" Hutchins shouted as he entered the hallway. The thunder of motorcycles was almost too loud for anyone to hear each other. Lloyd helped fight back against the attackers, especially since Hutchins was now here. It wouldn't have to be this way for much longer, soon he could drop the act and take off this mask. He wouldn't have to hide his true self anymore. Lloyd could hear Ultraviolet's banshee laugh. He looked in the direction he guessed it was coming from and sure enough there she was. She pulled out a knife and made eye contact with Lloyd before throwing it. "Watch out!" Hutchins shouted as he shoved Lloyd to the floor. He has been prepared to duck at the last second but he could go along with this. He stood up and looked over at Hutchins.

"You saved me." He stated bluntly. Hutchins got in a fighting stance as Ultraviolet got closer to them.

"As much as I hate to say it, I cannot defend the Royal Family by myself at the moment." He admitted. They both dove to the side as Ultraviolet drove right at them on her bike. There was still no word on the Princess' location nor if the mask was still in its case. Lloyd continued to fight side by side with Hutchins though it bothered him greatly to have to fight those who had pledged their loyalty to him. He had no choice though and it's not like they knew it was him, except for Ultraviolet. She knocked over Hutchins and drove right at him. He took the opportunity to knock her off her bike and kick her into a wall. They had to make the fight look real and she knew this. When she stood up, she pulled her knife out of the wall and walked over to Hutchins. As she did, Zane came running in and got her with his Spinjitzu, freezing her instantly. The Princess came running in behind him.

"You're ok." Lloyd hesitated on the way he spoke as he saw her. He was both shocked and angry. The blast zap was set so that her room would be destroyed. She shouldn't be alive and yet here she was. The only thing he could think of was that she was not in her room at the time the blast zap went off. But she should've been even if he did set it off early.

"I am." She smiled at him, clearly not picking up on his anger or shock. "But what about the mask? Is it safe?" She asked looking between Zane and Lloyd. They both glanced at one another, neither having heard from the others on the situation with the mask.

"We don't know. But your safety is more important." Hutchins reminded her. "You must follow me, I will get you out of here." Lloyd and the Princess went to follow after him but Zane did not. Lloyd stopped and gave him a look.

"Go, I will check on the others." Zane explained. Lloyd gave him a nod and followed after the Princess and Hutchins. Hutchins lead them to the throne room.

"How are we going to get out from here?" Lloyd asked, clearly confused.

"Patience." Hutchins mumbled as he moved behind one of the thrones. Lloyd stood watch, strangely enough, none of the Sons of Garmadon had come in here. There was nothing of value to them in here but it wouldn't have hurt them to come and check. Suddenly the comms blared to life.

"I think my brother just destroyed the Mask of Deception." Nya began. Lloyd stood there shocked. How could that have happened? This couldn't be the end. A mask so powerful can't be destroyed that easily. It just couldn't.

"That was a fake." Hutchins announced and it was music to Lloyd's ears. Hutchins revealed the real mask from behind the throne. "I wasn't sure if I could trust you ninja, so I hid the real one, but I see I was wrong. Forgive me, Your Highness for not telling you what I'd done." Hutchins moved one of the thrones to reveal a secret passage. He then handed the mask over to Lloyd. "Take it and get the Princess to safety." He instructed. Lloyd took a moment to study the mask in his hands. It was his, it was finally his! And it was literally handed to him! If only he knew it was going to be this easy then maybe he wouldn't have done all this. No, he still would've.

"What about my parents?" The Princess asked. Hutchins ushered her and Lloyd over to the passage.

"I will find them and get them to safety. But you must go now." He promised and shut the passage behind them. Lloyd and the Princess ran down the passageway quickly, they could hear the sounds of fighting at the end. It was a short tunnel that seemed to lead right to the front of the palace. Lloyd held out a hand to stop the Princess just so he could get an idea of what they were dealing with.

"We can easily get out of here." Lloyd stated after a moment. He looked back at her. "You trust me, right Harumi?" She nodded. "Ok then let's go." He ran out first. His plan was to just run through hoping to be unseen but he knew that would be impossible. As they were running another explosion came from the palace. They both turned to look at the explosion and a Son of Garmadon took that as an opportunity to attack but Lloyd was quicker. He kicked the guy off his motorcycle and swung it around getting it to stop. He turned to Harumi. "Get on." He instructed and hopped on the bike. She hesitated for a moment but picked up a helmet that had fallen and got on the back of the bike. Lloyd revved the engine and took off as fast as he could. He needed someone to follow them, Mr. E or Ultraviolet specifically.

"They're right behind us!" Harumi shouted. Lloyd drove towards the highway, if they could get to an abandoned section, then there was a chance he could get the mask to them. Of course the plan had to be improvised yet again. But this wasn't any of their fault, the fault was all his. He should've checked the mask, he should've known it was a fake. The only good thing was that it was in his possession and the night wasn't over.

"I'm aware!" He shouted back. Lloyd briefly looked behind them and saw Ultraviolet and a few other Sons of Garmadon following them. Good. He would still have to put up an act in front of the Princess but where it was only her it wouldn't be as hard. He slowed the bike for a moment so that Ultraviolet could see the hand signal he was making. He was telling her to separate up ahead, as in separate herself from the others. Doing so would make getting the mask to her so much easier. After a moment he sped the bike back up, using the traffic to his advantage. He knew he could easily lose them all except Ultraviolet. She knew his driving techniques all too well, because she was the one who taught him to ride a motorcycle. This is how he would get her away from the others. Lloyd pulled in front of a truck and shut off the headlights to the bike.

"What are you doing?" Harumi asked as she kept looking behind them. "They're going to catch us!"

"Give it a minute." Lloyd said calmly as the roar of motorcycles grew closer. He watched with a smile as they all drove by, no one noticing them, save for Ultraviolet who gave him a hand signal in return. The single in particular meant that she understood. Once they were far enough ahead, Lloyd took an exit on to a different part of the highway. "I think we're in the clear, Harumi." Lloyd guessed, but a sudden banshee scream said otherwise. Ultraviolet landed with her bike not too far in front of them. "Hold on, and keep low." Lloyd instructed as they both drove towards one another. Ultraviolet pulled out her knife and Lloyd his sword, aiming the weapons at each other. The metal clashed and Ultraviolet used the opportunity to knock Lloyd off the hike sending him sliding down the highway. Harumi let out a scream as the bike landed on top of her. Lloyd looked over at her and noticed she no longer had the mask in her hands.

"The mask, Lloyd! You have to get it!" Harumi pleaded. He looked in front of him and saw it laying there in the middle of the road. Ultraviolet saw it too, she started to drive to it but Lloyd was closer and got to it first. Just as he grabbed it, Ultraviolet stopped in front of him and grabbed him by his gi, lifting him off the ground slightly.

"You have to hurt me and forcibly take the mask." He told her.

"Understood." She responded and kicked Lloyd as hard as she could while holding onto the mask. He let the mask go and hit the ground hard with a thud. "Well, well, looks like we got what we wanted." She laughed and Lloyd got back up, making his way towards Harumi.

"We need to go." He quickly pulled the bike off of her and helped her back on it.

"But the mask-" Harumi started to say.

"It's too late!" Lloyd interrupted her. "Look." He pointed as several others joined Ultraviolet. "She's got reinforcements. At this point my job is to keep you safe and alive." Lloyd sped down the road towards the docks.

"Where are we going to go? They'll chase us anywhere!" She shouted over the sound of the motorcycle.

"They can't follow us into the sky." Lloyd pointed out.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Harumi responded.

"Just trust me!" Lloyd begged. He drove through the alleyways that lead to the docks, quickly weaving through the multiple buildings. "Hang on!" Lloyd shouted as he drove up a ramp and landed on a ship.

"Surround the ship!" Ultraviolet commanded. "Don't let anyone escape!" Lloyd lead Harumi onto the upper deck and began to pull the sheets off of the ship.

"How are we going to escape in this thing?" Harumi asked Lloyd.

"Don't worry this 'thing' has never let me down." He assured her and began to power up the ship. It had been months since the last time the ship was used, there no way of knowing if it would actually fly. Lloyd however was willing to take that risk.

"We can't just sail away, they'd stop us before we could." Harumi warned him. Lloyd pressed a few more buttons trying to get the ship to power up. Finally he gave it a kick and that seemed to knock things into place. He turned to look at Harumi.

"We won't be sailing." He smiled as the ship hummed to life. "You might want to hold onto something, it's been awhile since we've used this ship." He explained as the lift off sequence began. The ship gracefully lifted out of the water and Lloyd spun the wheel so that they could fly back into the city, using the buildings as cover.

"We're flying…" Harumi exclaimed in disbelief. She watched the city below with awe. The first time Lloyd flew in the ship he remembered how amazing seeing the view for the first time felt. "The city, it's so beautiful from up here." Lloyd put the ship on autopilot and walked over to join her.

"Welcome aboard the Destiny's Bounty." He said to her. She smiled at him but her face turned to concern.

"You're hurt." She pointed out and Lloyd looked down at his arm. He was indeed hurt but he hadn't noticed until Harumi said something. He couldn't guess when it happened but that didn't really matter he supposed.

"Are you hurt?" He asked her, remembering that the bike had fallen on her.

"I don't think it's serious but my leg hurts a bit." She admitted. The bike must not have landed on her as hard as he had thought.

"I'm not a doctor but I've seen my fair share of injuries, I can at least take a look at your leg." He suggested to her. Harumi shrugged.

"Why not?" She said. Lloyd lead her to the ninja's shared room and told her to sit down on one of the beds. He went to the bathroom and grabbed one of the various first aid kits they had lying around. When Lloyd walked back into the room, he kneeled down in front of Harumi. She lifted her dress slightly allowing him to look at her injured leg.

"I see some bruising but I don't think there's anything seriously wrong." Lloyd said after a moment. "I think an ice pack is the best thing for it." He said and went to stand up but Harumi grabbed his arm.

"Let me look at your arm." She said. "Like you, I may not be a doctor but I can sew and I bet you need stitches." Lloyd paused for a moment but then sat down next to her on the bed. He removed the half top of his gi, revealing his injured arm.

"Have at it, Princess." He said and she nodded, grabbing the first aid kit. She grabbed the disinfectant and cotton swab and began to clean the wound. Lloyd hissed at the pain and flinched a little but held still as best he could. Once she finished cleaning it, he took a look at his arm to see how bad it was. The cut wasn't deep but she was right about it needing stitches. "Are you sure you want to do this? I can stitch my arm myself, wouldn't be the first time." He asked her.

"You helped me, let me help you." Harumi said.

"I gave you an ice pack, I wouldn't call that helping." He laughed and she did too but only a little.

"I meant with everything you've done since you first arrived at the palace." She quietly said. Lloyd sighed and handed her the stitching needle and thread.

"If you really want to." He said and she smiled a little, clearly happy that Lloyd was letting her help. Harumi began to work on his arm. How she knew how to do this Lloyd would never know but he wasn't going to question her on it since all she wanted to do was help. It took her about thirty minutes and a few mishaps before she was placing a bandage over his wound to stop any blood from dripping. Lloyd moved his arm around, it hurt a little but it was nothing a few painkillers and some rest wouldn't fix.

"Thank you." He said to her as he put his shirt back on. "It'll make for an awesome scar when it heals."

"Thank you as well, for keeping me safe."

"It's no problem, I'm happy to help." He lied with a smile. Lloyd moved over to a closet and pulled out some clothes. He walked back over to Harumi and put them next to her. "They might be a little big but they're cleaner than your dress so feel free to use them if you'd like. The bathroom is the next room over if you need to clean up. I'll be up on the deck if you need me." Lloyd explained before leaving the Princess.

* * *

As the night went on, Harumi eventually grew tired. Lloyd told her she could sleep in the ninja's shared room and that he would keep watch. However after she fell asleep, he planned to leave the ship.

"Pixal," Lloyd called out.

"Yes, Master Lloyd?" She responded instantly.

"Watch over Harumi, I'm going to look for the others." He informed her before jumping off the ship. He needed to go back to the Palace, to make sure the rest of the plan went accordingly. He knew of three individuals who would be in the way if they were alive. The Palace of Secrets now belonged to the Sons of Garmadons and he would do with it however he seemed fit. When Lloyd landed on the ground, he changed into his Quiet One attire and then stole a motorcycle. He needed a way to get there fast and his personal bike was back at the Sons of Garmadon's hideout. His ride to the palace was short which was good. He was anxious to finish this. When he arrived Ultraviolet was waiting for him.

"Quiet One, we have the prisoners waiting for you in the garden. And the mask," She started and then pulled out the mask itself. "I have here, for you." He took it from her hands and held it.

"You did good." He complimented. "Lead me to the prisoners." She nodded and brought him to where they were keeping the prisoners. He followed her to the garden where the Emperor, Empress and Hutchins were on their knees, their hands tied behind them. "Clear the area." He ordered. "Though you can stay, Ultraviolet."

"You heard the Quiet One! Everybody out!" She yelled. No one hesitated to run inside the palace.

"On second thought, three can stay, the prisoners won't be walking out alive." Lloyd decided and Ultraviolet nodded.

"You three," She stopped a few who were armed. "Stay here and wait for the Quiet One's signal." The three nodded and stood silently.

How does it feel to watch your city fall?" Lloyd asked the Emperor.

"Who are you?" The Emperor demanded and Lloyd ignored him. If he thought he was going to be the one asking questions, well then he was very wrong.

"Ninjago will burn and it will be your fault because as the Emperor and Empress you failed to protect the city!" He shouted. "You relied on the ninja and hid behind your stupid walls!" He pulled the Mask of Deception out from behind his back. "No matter though because I am one step closer to finishing my mission. Soon Ninjago will have a true Emperor." Lloyd laughed a little.

"But the mask was with the Princess." Hutchins said quietly. The Empress began to cry. "What have you done with the Princess?"

"She's fine. She made it safely to the ninja's ship." Lloyd explained. "I mean after all," he removed his own mask. "I made sure she got there safely." He finished with a smirk.

"You!" Hutchins shouted. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you! But to think you were behind all this, is more than I feared."

"Yeah, you were right about not trusting me, because I am going to be the most feared villain Ninjago will ever face." Lloyd raised his hand. The Sons of Garmadon readied their weapons at his command.

"How could you do this?" The Empress asked through her tears. Lloyd shrugged. "You were supposed to protect us all."

"Pretty easily actually, I mean I'm the bad guy after all and it seems to run in the family. Evil dad, evil son." He answered and put his mask on. He turned away, giving a nod. Three archers released an arrow, each hitting one behind him. He heard their bodies hit the ground with a satisfying thud. "Well now that that's done." He tossed the Mask of Deception to Ultraviolet, as he did he saw Kai up on the roof. He was about to send the Sons of Garmadon after him but Nya appeared and grabbed him, quickly pulling him out of sight. Lloyd sighed and decided they could go for now. The ninja didn't interfere so they weren't a problem. "Call everyone back to the garden." Lloyd ordered. Ultraviolet went inside the palace leaving Lloyd alone. He took this moment to see the damage done by the explosions and the various bodies that were there. The sight did not faze him, maybe it would have if he were still a child but it didn't and he could live with that. The doors swung open and the Sons of Garmadon filed their way into the garden.

"Everyone listen up! The Quiet One has a message for us!" Ultraviolet announced. Everyone gathered closer, leaving Lloyd in the middle of the crowd.

"For starters, the second part of the mission was a success! We now have the second mask, leaving only one left!" Lloyd shouted. "It's only a matter of time until we locate the Oni temple, we're getting closer to it everyday. For the next few nights you may celebrate!" The Sons of Garmadon cheered. Lloyd raised his hand and the quieted down. "Now, onto something more important. Who had a run in with the Green Ninja last night?" He asked and someone stepped forward, instantly. It was a man. Lloyd was honestly shocked at how quickly he stepped forward.

"I did." The man admitted with a proud look on his face. Lloyd walked forward, circling around him.

"You must feel good for surviving." Lloyd commented and the man nodded and few others let out a cheer in the crowd.

"Yeah I do."

"I mean anyone would. So you want to tell me why you attacked the Princess?" Lloyd asked. "That's the reason the Green Ninja went after you."

"I...I didn't know it was her." The man stuttered and Lloyd pulled out his knife and the crowd went dead silent. He began to twist it in his hands.

"Oh bullshit!" He shouted. The other Sons of Garmadon jumped at his outburst. There had been times in the past where Lloyd had made an example out of someone, it had been terrifying. But it reminded everyone that Lloyd was in charge and they obeyed him and his every command. The newer members had yet to see why everyone was so scared of him but that would no longer be the case.

"I swear! I didn't!" The man cried and dropped to his knees. Lloyd rolled his eyes, this guy really thought he could get away with lying to him. Everyone knew that he could tell when someone was lying.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't!" Lloyd demanded and stopped in from of him. He crouched down and pointed the knife at the man's throat.

"I didn't know." The man nervously said one more time. Lloyd stared at his eyes and pocketed his knife. The man sighed.

"Thank yo-" Lloyd snapped the man's neck. The crowd began to mumble quietly in shock.

"Never ever lie to me! I will know if you do and you will face the same consequences." Lloyd started to storm away. "Clean up this mess and then clear the area! We're done here." He commanded before he was out of earshot.

* * *

Lloyd climbed back up onto the Bounty, having already changed back into his green gi. He walked back to the shared bedroom and quietly entered. He pulled out a knife and snuck over to the bed the Princess was sleeping in. She shouldn't be alive, she should've died in the explosion. He didn't need her for his plan nor did he want her here, she'd only be a problem. He pressed the knife to her neck and she stirred a little. If he killed her right now what would he tell the ninja? Anything he could come up with wouldn't be believable, they'd know he was lying. So what to do then?

Maybe he could use her to his advantage, convince her to join him. If she didn't join him then well, he'd definitely have to get rid of her. He pulled the knife away and quietly left the room. She would live for now and only because he guessed she'd make a nice addition to his game. Why not make it more fun?

* * *

_**If I made a ask blog on tumblr for Lloyd from this story, would any of you be interested in it? Or follow it maybe? I've been toying with the idea for awhile.**_

_**Also have a new Ninjago AU in the works for when we're done with this one. I'm not going to reveal anything about it yet but I think it'll be a good one.**_

_**From now on I'll just give an estimate of when the next chapter will be done instead of saying it will be done on that day. So for the next one let's say around the 27th.**_

_**I'm still not good at author's note.**_

_**~Kai**_


	6. V

_**Review Responses:**_

_**The Trickiest One: **__**Yes and no to your question. You were one of the ones who inspired us to take our idea and actually write it. I had originally brought up the idea of Quiet One Lloyd to Vin when season 8 was still new. I didn't think anyone else would like the idea so we kept it to ourselves. That was until I saw on tumblr a few months ago how many people actually liked the idea. So we thought why not share our version?**_

_**~Kai**_

_**LlorumiForever:**_** Don't worry we have a plan for Harumi's role in Lloyd's game. Whether or not she'll join him, well you'll have to wait on that answer a bit longer.**

_**Browneyedace:**_** Thank you! We love hearing when readers are excited!**

_**Mars:**_** Thank you for your kind words! And yes Harumi is nice in this AU her fate is still undecided however. Same with the actual ending of this story, if we're being honest.**

_**This is just a general warning that from here on out chapters will be darker. I can continue to put warnings for particularly dark ones, if anyone would like. The most that is going to happen is some brutal deaths.**_

_**Warning: fight scene, major injury.**_

* * *

The sun was beginning to rise, morning had come to end the deadly night. Sirens could be heard all throughout the city as they rushed to the palace. What the emergency responders hoped to do was unknown. The Sons of Garmadon had made sure there was no one left alive and burned down a majority of the palace itself.

There was nothing left to save.

Harumi stood upon the deck of the Bounty, her eyes never left the palace. She wondered if her parents made it, were they safe? She had barely slept because of these thoughts. Lloyd knew the answer to her questions but he wouldn't- correction couldn't tell her, it wasn't like he wanted to anyways. If he told her that would only lead to more questions to which he didn't have the patience for. The ninja had contacted Lloyd asking for a pick up not too far from the palace. They had suffered some injuries and had managed to hide during the rest of the night but needed help. Lloyd lowered the Bounty down where the ninja had said they were. After a moment, one by one they climbed up onto the deck. Each of them looked awful but none of them seemed seriously injured. They made their way over to Lloyd, no one said a word but they all shared the same look of defeat. When Harumi noticed them, she came running over.

"Thank goodness you are all alright." She breathed a sigh of relief. She then looked around them and behind them. Her face grew worried. "Where are the Emperor and Empress? And Hutchins?" She asked. The ninja looked at each other. None of them knew how to break the news to her. "Please tell me that they're ok." She begged. Nya took a step forward towards her. If no one else would tell her, then she would.

"I'm so sorry, Princess." Nya started. "But they didn't make it." Harumi's eyes began to water as she turned away quickly, looking at the remains of the palace once more. The tears fell down her face. Her family was gone, leaving her the lone survivor.

"And the mask?" Kai asked somewhat quietly. He had walked over to Lloyd who simply shook his head. Kai sighed and looked at Harumi. "The Sons of Garmadon won't get away with this, Princess." He told her. She wiped her eyes and turned around.

"It would seem again I have had my parents taken from me." She started. "I am alone once more."

"You're not alone." Lloyd said as he walked over and stood by her side. "You can stay with us, we will protect you. And like Kai said they won't get away with this. We'll find them and stop them." The others all nodded in agreement. She gave them a sad smile but said nothing.

"We can't stay here though. They will be looking for us." Zane pointed out. "Some of us are hurt and are not able to fight as well."

"Zane's right." Lloyd agreed. "We need to go somewhere to hide just until we come up with a plan. Zane, you and I should stay up here and take us somewhere safe." He started. "The rest you need to get patched up." After Lloyd finished speaking everyone went their separate ways. Zane and Lloyd plotted a course to Dead Man's Squall. They believed it would be the best place to hide until it was safe enough to return to the city. Cole, Nya and Jay went below deck to help each other with injuries.

That left, Kai and Harumi, both of who were up on the top deck. Harumi was watching below the Bounty as the world zoomed by. She had never been out of the city before and was amazed by everything she saw. Kai was in the crows nest, he couldn't get the memory of watching the Emperor, the Empress and Hutchins die. He felt guilty, he should've been able to save them. They all should've, that was their main task; protect the Royal Family and they failed, he failed. He knew the person he saw had to be the leader of the Sons of Garmadon there was no question about it. If he ever ran into the leader he would not hesitate to end them right then and there. This leader had done enough damage.

"The Princess looks like she could use someone to talk to." Zane spoke suddenly to Lloyd. "From our brief interactions with her, I feel you are the only one she may feel comfortable talking with." Lloyd gave a simple nod in agreement. He walked over to her and cleared his throat hoping not to startle her.

"Oh hello, Lloyd." She spoke quietly, clearly very sad after the previous night's events.

"How are you?" Lloyd asked. "I mean after everything that has happened." He wasn't really sure how to go about the conversation. He had suffered loss himself but no one had ever talked to him about it. He wondered sometimes that maybe if someone let him speak about his father's death would he still be doing what he was now? Yes, he would. Because talking can't fix what happened, it can't change how they treated him. Lloyd had no idea what to say.

"Honestly?" She asked. "It was harder losing my birth parents, though that doesn't mean I don't mourn the deaths of the Emperor and Empress." Lloyd was taken back by this. Harumi was adopted into the Royal Family?

"What?"

"The Emperor and Empress were not my birth parents, I thought I had told you or that you knew." She said. Lloyd shook his head. "My real parents they died the day the Great Devourer attacked. I was separated from them and before I knew it they were gone from me forever." She explained.

"I'm so sorry." Lloyd told her. He knew he essentially caused the Great Devourer's attack but that didn't mean he felt guilty. Yes, maybe at the time he did but that was then. Now, he could care less about what happened to the city that expected everything from him. He was glad that he had released the serpentine for many reasons.

"It's alright." An awkward silence fell over them. "What about your parents? I mean I know a little about your father but what about your mom?" Lloyd wanted out of this conversation at the mention of his mother. Harumi didn't need to know anything about his parents, well the truth at least.

"My father died a few years ago and my mother is trying to find my uncle." Lloyd explained, he kept his answer short. "So I guess we can share in the sorrow of having lost a parent or parents."

"It's not something people like to have in common but it gives us something, you're right." Harumi agreed. "If you ever want to talk about it, your father's death, I'll listen. I talked with some people about my parents deaths and I'd like to think it helped."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Lloyd gave her a fake smile. They both turned back to the view below the Bounty, silence returning. Lloyd realized that he could use the information about Harumi's birth against her, to get her to see his way. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how much use the Princess could be. Of course once he no longer had a use for her he would dispose of her one way or another. Getting her to join him could be hard, should she refuse he would have give her a choice; join him or she'd die; it would be a simple choice. He glanced at her and saw Kai approaching them from behind her.

"Zane says we're almost at Dead Man's Squall. When we get there, we should talk about what our plan is." Kai suggested . Lloyd nodded.

"That's a good idea, we'll join you guys when the ship lands." Lloyd let him know and watched as he walked away. Kai had seen him last night, well he had seen the Quiet One. He had tried to keep his existence hidden, he hadn't expected the ninja to still be there when he arrived. At least they did not know what he was called he could still keep his leadership somewhat hidden. Though he feared his secret wouldn't be kept much longer. The ship landed in the water and splashed the two a little.

"Is this where we'll be staying?" Harumi asked as she looked at the endless fog surrounding them. Lloyd shrugged.

"For now, the Sons of Garmadon could be looking for you. We need to figure out our next move." Lloyd explained. They both started to walk over to the others. Harumi continued to ask questions.

"You don't have a base?"

"We do." Lloyd answered. "It's back in the city and that's the last place we should be. We'll go back though, we haven't abandoned the city." He climbed out the ladder and held his hand out to help Harumi up.

"So what do we know about the Sons of Garmadon?" Cole asked, getting the conversation going since they were all there. "Anything? I mean we must know something."

"We know nothing, absolutely nothing about them." Kai complained, clearly frustrated. Nya stepped forward and accessed the computer. She pulled up a photo of the two masks.

"That's not entirely true." She pointed out. "We do know they're after the three oni masks, though we don't know what it is they need them for."

"Quick reminder that they already have two of them!" Jay chimed in.

"Yes, but they don't have the third." Zane reminded them. "Pixal has scanned everywhere for the third one but she's come up with nothing. It's as if it doesn't exist."

"If Pixal can't find it, then there's a good chance the Sons of Garmadon can't find it either." Cole said. They all mumbled in agreement. Lloyd wanted to laugh. If only they knew that the Sons of Garmadon were on the verge of finding the last mask. It was within his grasp. There was without a doubt he would find it before the ninja could even pinpoint a possible location for it.

"There's a lot knows and don't knows but I say we focus on their leader." Kai suddenly spoke up. Lloyd immediately looked to him, curious on how he planned to catch him. "I think I saw whoever is running the group last night. I didn't get a good look at him but he was wearing a mask and it looked like he was giving orders to those around him." He explained. Lloyd decided he would have to lay low for a while. It was good Kai hadn't really seen what he looked like but it was better to be safe rather than sorry. He just could not wait for the day where he could remove his mask and step out from the shadows. He imagined what the looks of betrayal on their faces would be.

"Kai's right. We should start with finding out who the leader is." Cole agreed. "Lloyd," he looked over at the sound of his name. "You've been awfully quiet."

"Sorry, I guess I'm just still trying to understand why they call themselves the Sons of Garmadon." He lied. "I don't get what my father has to do with this. Part of me honestly doesn't want to." Lloyd would need to continue to contribute to the group or risk bringing suspicion upon himself.

"That's understandable."

"I think I may have a solution for us." Nya offered and pulled up some police footage. "There was a suspect captured from the Borg Tower heist, he's got to know something about the leader and the true purpose of this gang."

"The suspect is currently in Police custody but he's refused to talk." Pixal informed them. Lloyd was surprised at that information. He had half expected for the suspect to spill everything he knew. This pleased him to know this specific member of the gang wasn't a complete disappointment. He still wasn't welcomed back but at least he knew to keep his mouth shut.

"Then it's settled, you guys will go to talk with the suspect and I'll stay here with Harumi." Nya stated. "You better hurry though because from the looks of it, the suspect is set for release."

"We better get there fast then." Cole stated.

"I think I'll stay behind as well." Kai said as the other began to prepare to leave. "I have something I need to do." Nobody questioned what Kai needed to do or they didn't get a chance to before he walked away.

* * *

Zane, Jay, Cole and Lloyd walked over to Mystake's Tea Shop. Cole had suggested they grab some truth tea to use on the suspect. The only reason Lloyd had agreed to it was because he knew that the suspect had nothing important to share. The only thing he knew was that they had a temporary base at the karaoke bar. He didn't know where the main base was which was good. The boys walked inside and saw a woman stalking the shelves.

"Hello, we're looking for Mystake. Do you know where she is?" Cole asked as they walked in.

"She isn't here." The woman grumbled and the turned around. Her face lit up. "Oh Lloyd and the ninja. My apologies, it's been so long, I hope you have been well. How can I help you?" She asked with a smile.

"We're looking for-"

"The tea of truth, yes I know." Mystake answered. They stood their shocked, unable to figure out how she knew. But they had learned not to question her in the past. "I have some I can give to you but just remember the truth can be dangerous and also upsetting."

"What do you mean?" Zane inquired. Mystake shrugged.

"You may not like what you discover." She answered and then disappeared into the back of the shop. A moment later she returned with the tea. As she entered the room, Lloyd caught a glimpse of the painting behind her. It was that of an oni and a dragon. This could spell trouble, if she knew anything about Lloyd's family's history with the oni. It would be even worse if she knew what the masks could do. He had a feeling she did. But luckily it seemed Lloyd was the only one who saw the painting, or so he thought.

"Mystake," Cole, grabbed her attention. "That painting, is that an oni?"

"It is, that is the tale of the oni and the dragon but it is a long tale. I can tell you are in a rush, aren't you?" Mystake guessed.

"We are, yes. Lloyd what should we do?" Cole asked him. "We could learn something about the masks or the Sons of Garmadon." Lloyd thought for a minute, there was no way they would let him stay here himself and he didn't want them interviewing the suspect. Neither option was good here. They'd probably suggest to split up. Which one of three would be easiest for him to take down. Honestly the answer was any of them. He was much more powerful than all of them combined.

"Jay and I will stay here, Cole, you and Zane will go interview the suspect, see what you can find out." Lloyd finally decided. Cole and Zane nodded and grabbed the tea before running out of the shop. Lloyd glanced over at Jay, he had no idea what was coming for him.

"Come then, to learn the tale of the Oni and the Dragon." Mystake pulled back the curtain, allowing Lloyd and Jay to pass. "However in order to hear this tale, you must first drink the tea." They both sat down and waited as Mystake made the tea for them. Lloyd already knew everything about the Oni and the Dragon. There was nothing new for him to learn. Jay was going to learn much than Lloyd wanted him to know and that wasn't ok. He was going to need a plan to dispose of him and then he'd need an explanation for the others. He and Jay got separated during an attack and he barely escaped? He'd have to hurt himself if that was the case. That wouldn't work, injuries would just slow him down. He'd have time during the tale to figure out what he was going to do.

"Here you boys go." Mystake said as she handed each of them a tea cup. She then sat down in front of them. "Now then, long before Ninjago even existed, there was the realm of the Oni and the dragon." She began. Lloyd wanted to tune her out but he knew he would have to listen to make sure she didn't say anything that Jay would find helpful.

"One of the sixteen realms?" Jay asked.

"It is the first realm!" She exclaimed. "One had the power to create and the other to destroy. It lead to a war that lasted an eternity."

"I'm guessing the Oni were the ones who destroyed."

"You would be wise to guess that." She said. "But then there was a child who was born of both worlds, able to create and destroy. He understood his power, without one you could not have the other. The Oni and the Dragon fought over who the child should join and because that the child left."

"Where did he go?"

"He used his power and created his own realm." She said and turned to them with a smile. "And he named it Ninjago!"

"Hold up, you're saying the First Spinjitsu Master was the child of the Oni and the Dragon." Jay exclaimed and Mystake nodded. He turned to Lloyd. "Dude, you know what that means?"

"I'm part Oni and Dragon." Lloyd said faking his surprise. Mystake watched him as he spoke, almost as if she thought something was off about him, but she did not say anything. "Why did my Uncle never tell me about this?" He asked and it was a serious question. He always wondered why this part about his family was kept locked away. He had researching the Oni Masks when he discovered the truth.

"Sensei Wu feared you would follow in the path of your father." Mystake sighed. "When the First Spinjitzu Master fathered two sons, each one took more to one side. Sensei Wu followed the path of the Dragon and creation but your father was consumed by the power of the Oni and destruction. The venom of the Great Devourer ruined his only chance to fight his Oni side." She explained.

"Did my father know? About the Oni and the Dragon?" Lloyd asked, he was trying to stop himself exploding with anger.

"I do not believe so." She answered. "Like I said the truth can be dangerous and upsetting. Sensei Wu was tasked to keeping his brother at bay but he could not do it alone." She turned to Lloyd. "In the end Lord Garmadon was destroyed by the most powerful force known, the love of his own son." She finished the tale. "But without Lord Garmadon, a new darkness has arisen."

"The Sons of Garmadon." Lloyd stated. Mystake nodded.

"Yes. They seek the three Oni masks, those masks originated from the first realm itself. They hold power beyond your belief."

"What happens when they're reunited?" Jay asked. _Do not say it._

"You cannot let that happen." She answered and Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tell us, we need to know what we're up against, right Lloyd?" Jay asked and glanced at him. But Lloyd was too busy staring at Mystake. She was very aware of the glare she was receiving. _Don't say it!_

"If all three are reunited the Sons of Garmadon will have the power of resurrection." She stated. "They will bring back Lord Garmadon, he will know nothing but destruction." She finished and the teapot in her hand exploded. Jay and Mystake jumped back but Lloyd remained unfazed. She just signed Jay's death certificate without even knowing it. He couldn't let the other discover the true plans of the Sons of Garmadon. It would put the ninja a step father than he wanted. It was too soon for them to know.

"Lloyd!" Jay called for him and he snapped out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw the dark power emitting from his hand, hopefully Jay hadn't noticed. Jay placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok?" Lloyd stood up.

"Yeah, this was just a lot to take in." He said. Jay nodded.

"We should tell the others about what we found out." Jay suggested. "Thank you, for the tea, Mystake." He said walked out of the room, leaving Mystake and Lloyd.

"I don't interfere with events that take place here, but just know Young Lloyd Garmadon, you have chosen the wrong path." She stated.

"What?"

"You destroyed Lord Garmadon but the darkness within him needed new home, I'm sorry it had to be you." She sighed.

"So you know then."

"I know more than you think." She warned Lloyd. Whether he would take it as a warning was up to him.

"The darkness isn't doing this." He turned to face her. "I am, for my father."

"So be it," She said. "Like I said I won't interfere nor will I reveal what you are. But you have chosen your path, be ready to walk it." Mystake cautioned him. Lloyd left without so much as a final glance at her. He knew she would keep her word about his secret. After all she had no right to mess with a realm that wasn't hers. Lloyd exited the shop and found Jay waiting for him.

"You ready to go?" He asked and Lloyd shook his head.

"I need time alone." He admitted to Jay. "That was a lot of information to take in, especially finding out that Sensei knew."

"I understand, I can wait for you if you want." Jay offered him a comforting smile.

"Yeah sure, if I'm not back in an hour just leave without me." Lloyd told him. "I might need more time than I think. Will you let the others know for me?" He asked and Jay nodded.

* * *

Lloyd studied the mask in his hands. Everytime he put it on he felt more like himself, this time would be no different. It had only been twenty minutes, he had forty minutes before Jay would return to the Bounty without him. That couldn't happen. He clasped the mask into place and got on his stolen motorcycle. The whole drive back, he decided he'd need to surprise jay, to not even give him the chance to fight back. Lloyd parked a few blocks away and texted Jay.

_Lloyd: I'm going to be gone for a couple hours, just head back without me._

Without even waiting for a response, he left his phone on the bike and walked the rest of the way to Mystake's shop. I'm the distance he could see Jay beginning to walk away. Lloyd went from walking to running, sword at the ready. He spared a quick glimpse at Mystake's shop and saw the closed sign hanging on the door. She wasn't around to stop this from happening which was good. She said she wouldn't interfere but he feared she might've stopped him. He saw Jay stop and quickly dove into an alley.

"Is someone there?" Jay asked as he looked around. After a second Jay shrugged and continued to walk. Lloyd climbed up the building and landed right behind him. He was about to strike when Jay turned and kicked him away. "Who are you?" He demanded as he stared Lloyd down. Lloyd got back up on his feet. "You're part of the Sons of Garmadon aren't you?" Lloyd wanted to roll his eyes, way to state the obvious. As if the symbol on him wasn't proof enough of that.

"You're a problem for me, which means you've got to go." Lloyd told him, a dark look in his eyes. Jay got in a defensive stance as Lloyd started to move closer.

"How am I problem for you?" He asked, clearly confused. As if everything he just learned from Mystake wouldn't be enough to make him a problem. Lloyd stepped forward and charged at him, ignoring his question. Jay blocked the attack and his eyes went wide.

"You're the leader!" He gasped. That was the last straw for Lloyd. He should've known Jay would guess he's the leader. He couldn't let Jay walk away alive, not if he wanted his plan to succeed. Jay used his spinjitzu to fling him against a nearby wall. Lloyd but his tongue as he slammed

into the wall. He needed to focus or Jay was going to kick his ass. "We're going to stop you, we know you want to resurrect Lord Garmadon!" Jay told him. Lloyd laughed as he stood back up and spit out some blood.

"Stop me?" He mocked and dragged his sword on the ground. "Whenever you think you've caught up, just know that I'm three steps ahead of you and I always will be. Not that you'll be around much longer for that to matter." He laughed once again. This time Jay attacked first but Lloyd was quick to block him. "You're too slow, just surrender, make it easier." Lloyd advised him.

"I'm a ninja and ninja, we never quit." Jay said, his voice showed no fear. They continued to fight, the sound of metal clashing against metal rang throughout the city block. He was putting up more of a fight than Lloyd had expected but that didn't mean he was a challenge. He could tell Jay was growing tired. Each of them managed to land a few hits on the other, but nothing that was enough to stop the other. Jay managed to swing his nunchucks right into Lloyd's ribs, breaking one or two. The pain was unbelievable but Lloyd barely staggered. That's when Jay looked at him with fear in his eyes.

"What are you?" Jay asked. Lloyd took that opportunity to strike him across the abdomen and knock his feet out from underneath him. Jay hit ground with a thud, letting out a cry of pain. Lloyd studied his former ally on the ground, his eyes were squeezed shut in pain. The sight of the blood brought a sense of joy to Lloyd, joy he never thought he would feel when it came to violence...he really liked it. Lloyd dropped to his knees and wrapped a hand around Jay's throat. He applied pressure and Jay's eyes shot open and he began to struggle and fight back.

"P-please!" Jay choked out. Lloyd pulled out a knife and leaned down next to Jay's ear.

"Your enemy is always closer to you than you think." He whispered, removing his hand from Jay's throat as he brought the knife down.

Jay screamed.

* * *

_**This ending was actually improvised at the last second. We didn't plan on having Lloyd go after the other ninja until his identity was revealed but we also don't want this to follow each episode detail by detail. We also suck at writing fight scenes we apologize.**_

_**But what did you guys think of the chapter? Lloyd is definitely starting to become more evil or psychotic, I should say. Question is, how much longer will he be able to hide?**_

_**Also this was late because of me again. I went and saw The Phantom of the Opera earlier this week so I was more focused on that than Ninjago. But it did spark some ideas! One I can't share cause it will spoil the story.**_

_**About a week until the next update!**_

_**~Kai**_


	7. VI

**Review Responses**

_**Mars:**_ **It was honestly a hard decision on which ninja Lloyd was going to go after, originally we were going to have it be Cole.**

_**The Trickiest One:**_ **You're welcome! And yes he did, there's a good possibility that Lloyd's sanity is going to decline.**

_**Geeky47:**_ **We're glad to hear you like Lloyd as the Quiet One! And yes Harumi is nice and sweet...or is she?**

_**LlorumiForever:**_ **Don't worry we don't have too many cliffhangers for this story. I can't actually remember if we have any more.**

_**A Huge Fangirl:**_ **We're so happy to hear that you love story!**

**Sorry this update took so long! We were stuck on what was going to happen in this one and how we wanted this chapter to end. There was a big debate between us! This turned into just a filler chapter so it is a bit shorter but still good!**

* * *

Blood.

Rain.

The only two thoughts on Lloyd's brain, the blood on the pavement and the rain from above. The rain had come out of nowhere but it wasn't an unwelcome surprise as it started to clean up the bloody mess on the street. And also the blood on Lloyd. The Master of Lightning laid on the pavement, unmoving, in his own blood. He was a horrible sight to look at to anyone normal but to Lloyd, the work he had done brought him joy. He leaned against the wall closest to him. Jay had given him a run for his money, he'd actually landed a few good hits. Lloyd's ribs were sure to be bruised maybe fractured. He was lucky he only suffered a bloody nose, something he could easily cover up.

Lloyd stood, the rush of the kill finally dying down. He had to admit Jay made this fight quite fun, it had been awhile since he killed someone who actually fought back. He pocketed his knife and picked up his fallen sword. He took one last glance at Jay. The secret of Lloyd's family died with him, he would go after Mystake since she knew too but even he wasn't stupid enough to do that. He walked over to his bike and climbed on leaving the gruesome scene behind him.

Rain soaked Lloyd's clothes as rode his motorcycle to the bar. He needed to change back into his gi but before he could do that he needed to clean the blood off himself. There was a mix of his and Jay's blood on himself. If the others saw him like this they'd know he was the one who killed Jay or he could always have said that he found Jay. But he was almost to the bar at this point. His plan was simple; return to the bounty in a few hours and act confused when he finds Jay isn't there, explain to the others he told Jay to return without him. There was no way they could suspect him, nor would he have given them any reason to. Until he believed he had waited long enough to return, Lloyd would stay at the bar.

When he arrived, he wasn't surprised to see that the bar was almost completely empty. It was the middle of the day after all, though in an hour or two the building would be swarmed by the Sons of Garmadon. Lloyd ignored those who were in the bar and quickly made his way to his private room upstairs. As he was walking he didn't see Mr. E or Ultraviolet, they were most likely at one of the other bases.

Lloyd shut the door and immediately removed his mask. The inside of it was covered with the blood from his nose. He tossed it on a nearby table. This room had been stocked up on medical supplies since he was last here. He asked for that since there were chances of injuries happening. He was heartless but he cared somewhat for those working for him. He wasn't about to let them die without his say. He pulled out what he needed; some bandages, an ice pack and a few disinfectant cloths to clean up the blood.

He sat down in a chair and took his jacket and shirt off, though it was painful to do so. Both pieces of clothing found their way to the floor, too bloody to be put on the table. Lloyd looked down at his side and saw that a bruise had already started to form. He took an ice pack and held it against his side, the cool feel immediately relieving some of the pain. He turned sideways in the chair, using he back of it to hold the ice pack in place while he began to clean up the blood. His nose was a good place to start.

Lloyd took one of the disinfectant cloths and gently started to wipe around his nose. Luckily for him, his mask had taken most of the damage. It had seemed the blood had stopped dripping from his nose. It was a little sensitive around the bridge but besides that it nose would be fine. He tossed the now dirty cloth to the side before grabbing a new one. Lloyd was going to have to clean out the inside of his mask. There was no way he would wear it with all the blood in it.

After a few moments Lloyd tossed another used cloth and set his mask down. He shifted in the chair again, hissing slightly in pain. Jay really had done a number on his ribs. He removed the ice pack and grabbed a bandage to help keep his ribs from shifting too much.

A knock at the door startled Lloyd, it was quiet almost delicate like. He wasn't expecting anyone and last he checked neither Ultra or Mr. E were here. He quickly put on his mask and secured it in place.

"Come in." He called out and continued to wrap the bandage around his abdomen. The door slowly opened and familiar figure stepped inside. It was the girl from a few nights ago. "So, you came back. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see you again." The girl hesitantly closed the door behind her. Lloyd was even more surprise she had the guts to come up here. She obviously had to have asked around downstairs. Anyone down there probably told her that he would kill her if she came up here.

"Y-Yes, I did." She stuttered. Lloyd motioned for her to come closer in the room. She was still standing by the door looking a little nervous. Something had changed with her since the last time he saw her.

"You seem unsure with your decision to be here." Lloyd pointed out. The girl seemed to be avoiding any eye contact with him.

"I saw what you did to the palace, to the Royal Family. I know you killed them." She mumbled quietly, but he heard every word she said. Lloyd wondered why she would care about that. Unless she strongly cared for the family he didn't see why she would bring this up. Or maybe she feared him for what he'd done.

"Ah, so you heard about that, did you come to confront me about it?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"No." Her voice a bit more steady than before. "I mean yes." She sighed. "Why did you do it?" Lloyd shrugged and tossed the bandage to the side having given up on putting it on himself. The girl slowly walked over until she stopped in front of him.

"They were in the way of the success for my plan." Lloyd explained. "If I let them live they would just pose a threat." The girl didn't say anything, instead she picked up the bandage and looked at Lloyd. "By all means go for it, because I can't seem to wrap it around myself." He said to her. She knelt down next to him and began to wrap the bandage around him carefully.

"I probably can't know the plan, can I?" She asked, clearly seeming more comfortable than before. Lloyd laughed and then winced in pain a little.

"If you join us then I'd tell you but until then, you're right, you don't get to know." He said to her. "Offer still stands you know." He reminded her. She nodded.

"I know."

"The fact the you even showed up here, tells me that you're at least thinking about joining." He pointed out and she froze. "Otherwise you probably wouldn't be here."

"Yeah I guess it does." She answered and pinned the bandage into place. Lloyd looked down at it and moved slightly. He was able to move comfortably. "How did you get hurt anyways? Was it a fight?" The girl asked. This girl was very curious, it almost made Lloyd question if she was working for someone. _Almost._ She hadn't asked anything that he wasn't afraid to tell her.

"Someone knew something they shouldn't, so I had to get rid of them before they could tell anyone else." He explained. "But they put up more of a fight than I expected. I got cocky thinking they couldn't hurt me." He laughed to himself.

"Did you kill them too?" She whispered. When this girl in the mask first showed up, he had mentioned to her that everyone here was scared of him, that he was crazy. So it puzzled him of why she would even ask if he killed others.

"Yes." Lloyd answered. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Are you scared of me?" He asked. If she were to join the Sons of Garmadon, her fear would give him an advantage over her. This was an advantage he had over many here.

"I should be, but maybe I like how crazy you are. I think I'm more scared of myself for liking you." She answered.

"Liking me?" Lloyd laughed. "You don't even know me." As she stood back up her eyes caught sight of Lloyd's tattoo.

"You're right I don't." Her hand traced over the tattoo and the scar next to it. "You must fight a lot." Lloyd shrugged. He usually left the fighting to the others, though he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. In fact he enjoyed the thrill of the fight and even killing. If anyone had been there earlier they would've witnessed that as Lloyd killed Jay. He had to be careful with how often he would let himself be seen as the Quiet One.

"When I have to yes, I'm not afraid to get hurt if it means succeeding." He told her. Her hand went back to the tattoo.

"And this is?"

"Lord Garmadon, our father, the symbol for the gang or cult as some have called it." Lloyd answered proudly. "Most of the Sons have the same tattoo, but it's not required to get it."

"It suits you." She complimented. Lloyd reached to grab her hand that was still touching the tattoo. "Why do you call yourselves the Sons of Garmadon?'

"Join me and I'll tell you." He tried to persuade her. She pulled her hand away. "Or don't. But if you choose not too, I would advise not staying here. Outsiders aren't welcomed too often." There was slight annoyance in his voice.

"I should go." She backed away from him.

"Next time you show up, the Sons of Garmadon, might not be here." Lloyd warned her. "Our mission is almost complete, we have places to be." She took one more glance at him before leaving the room. Lloyd removed his mask. In all honesty he didn't care if the girl joined or not but it would be nice to have someone by his side. Being a leader can get a bit lonely.

Lloyd waited another moment and then stood, grabbing his shirt and jacket. He'd have to get them cleaned before the next time he would need to wear them. He put on the shirt and coat. Once everything was back on he picked up his mask. It had been long enough, he should return to the bounty. He walked down the stairs, finding that the bar had become a little more busy than when he first arrived.

* * *

Lloyd finished pulling his green gi back on before shoving his now bloody outfit out of sight. He hadn't thought of how he was going to get back to the bounty yet. He thought about using his elemental dragon but he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. He walked out of the alley way and people got excited as they saw him. How could they not? He was the Green Ninja after all. He wanted to roll his eyes. Anyone could save the city and the people would instantly love them. As he was walking a familiar sound caught his attention. Lloyd looked up towards where he hear the sound and spotted the bounty flying above the city. They should've been in Dead Man's Squall, why weren't they there? Well there was only one way he was going to find out. He sent a message up to the ship and watched as it started to lower down. He grabbed the ladder and climbed up. The moment he stepped foot on the ship he was engulfed in a hug. It took him back at first, the pain on his ribs flared up immensely.

"You're ok." It was Kai, he sounded so relieved. Lloyd hugged him back hoping to end this sooner.

"Yeah of course I am." Lloyd said and pulled away. Kai looked as if he had been crying recently. "Why wouldn't I be? And didn't we agree that you guys were going to stay hidden?" He asked. Kai gave him a worried look.

"There was an emergency. We've been trying to get a hold of you guys." Kai answered. "It's Jay. The Sons of Garmadon got to him. We were worried they got you, as well Cole and Zane. We've been looking all over the city for you guys." He explained. Lloyd froze, how could they already know about Jay? There was no way that anyone except him should've known.

"Cole and Zane are fine they're with the suspect." Lloyd answered. That seemed to ease some of Kai's worry but the Master of Fire was clearly still on edge.

"Then where were you and Jay?" Kai asked clearly confused as to why the four of them weren't together. Lloyd ignored his question and asked his own. He needed to see that Jay was dead.

"Where is Jay?" Kai motioned for him to follow. They went below deck to their shared room. Nya was already in there, her face also showed signs of tears. She was sat next to Jay's bed, where he laid unmoving, unresponsive. That was promising, he could still be dead. But as Lloyd moved closer he saw Jay's chest rise and fall.

He was very much _alive._

The opposite of what he should be. How was this possible? He should've been dead when Lloyd left him. Jay was covered in bandages, some were pink from blood.

"Jay used his emergency beacon to contact us, he was barely alive when we found him." Kai broke the silence. "When he contacted us all he said was Sons of Garmadon and then we lost him. He hasn't woken up." Lloyd wanted to punch himself. He should've checked to make sure Jay was dead before he left. Everything Jay larned was going to be revealed, especially since Lloyd said he was with him. He would have no choice but to tell them the truth.

"So he's going to be alright?" Lloyd asked, trying to keep his anger from showing.

"Well we don't know that. But he's alive." Nya finally spoke. Her voice was quiet and sounded strained.

"Yeah he's alive." Lloyd studied Jay, he had a bandage around his head covering the eye he had stabbed and one wrapped around his chest. Jay was supposed to be dead. How could he have survived what Lloyd did to him? Lloyd had left him bleeding on the ground, he was unconscious. But yet Jay had managed to contact Nya and Kai. He had been rescued. He was alive. And that pissed off Lloyd. There was nothing that Lloyd could do now, not himself at least. Kai pulled Lloyd away but he couldn't take his eyes off Jay.

"Don't worry, Lloyd." Nya started. "I'm going to keep watch over Jay. He's not leaving my sight." Nya continued to run her fingers through Jay's hair.

"We think there was a reason they attacked Jay. Did you guys learn something from the suspect?" Kai asked as they walked out of the room. Lloyd shook his head.

"We went to see Mystake, Jay and I stayed behind while Cole and Zane went to see the suspect." Lloyd explained. He was going to have no choice. He was going to be forced to tell Kai what he'd "learned" from Mystake.

"Why did you guys stay?" Kai asked.

"Mystake had some information that helped us." Lloyd began. He really didn't want to do this. They would know the true reason the Sons of Garmadon needed the masks. He sighed. "She told us that I'm part Oni and Dragon." He started and took a deep breath. "And that reuniting all three masks will grant the power of resurrection. We think they're trying to bring my father back."

"What?" Kai asked in disbelief. Lloyd nodded.

"I don't want to believe it but I trust Mystake." Lloyd said. "She warned us that the version of my father they'll bring back is Lord Garmadon, there will be nothing good left in him." Lloyd faked his sad and worried tone. Kai placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

"We won't let that happen." Kai said. "I won't, you have my word." Lloyd smiled but in reality he was actually upset as per usual. Kai had always seen Lloyd as a little brother and that would definitely endanger his plans. He would be even more determined to stop the Sons of Garmadon. Lloyd would have to take Kai and the others off the trail of the Sons of Garmadon or face the chance of being stopped. He would need to think of how he was going to do that. It was at that moment that Lloyd noticed a certain Princess was missing.

"Where is Harumi?" He asked.

"She got a little squeamish at the sight of all the blood so we told her she could wander throughout the ship." Kai answered. "She's here somewhere."

"I'm going to go look for her." Lloyd said and walked away from him. He began to wander the ship trying to find where the Princess had gone off to. There weren't too many rooms for her to be in so he should be able to find her easily. A thud from down the hall grabbed his attention. He followed the source and what he saw shocked him. Lloyd reached for his sword. Just on the other side of the door in front of him was the girl who had visited him at the bar. She looked as if she had just climbed through the window. What the hell was she doing here? Lloyd was about to open the door when she removed her mask.

"Harumi? You're the masked girl?" He whispered and moved away from the door. The girl in the mask was Harumi? How could he have not noticed? The voice, the hair, they were the same. Some of her questions from earlier made sense now. However this could work to his advantage. Lloyd had already begun to try and convince Harumi to join him without even knowing. So maybe if he told her his true identity she would join. It would take some more thought but at least today hadn't gone completely wrong for Lloyd. He wouldn't let her know that he knew of her little secret just yet but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun with it.

* * *

_**So sorry for a shorter chapter but surprise Jay isn't dead! We wouldn't kill anyone off this early in the story or would we? Who knows, we certainly don't.**_

_**Vin and I were talking about changing the rating for this story to Mature instead of Teen. We're not sure yet but we would love to hear your feedback on it. The story is going to start to get a lot darke which is why we even started to consider it.**_

_**We'll update in a little over a week!**_

_**~Kai**_


	8. VII

**Review Responses:**

**_The Trickiest One:_ Lloyd: we all dyin', you signed up for this.**

**But honestly no one knows what Harumi knows, not even her.**

**_LlorumiForever:_ we were going for shock, glad it worked!**

**_Mars:_ For now we'll keep it as Teen but there might be a scenes in a future chapter that might change that.**

**_Geeky47:_ I guess you'll have to read to find out ;)**

**_Browneyedace:_ We want to show you Lloyd's reveal so badly but we can't! It's for a later chapter!**

**_ChessNinja101:_ Thank you so much! And the answer to your question is; you'll have to read and find out! Sorry no spoilers!**

**We are so sorry for how long it took to get this chapter out! We spent every chance we had writing it but we were very busy! It'll be a shorter wait until the next chapter!**

**-Vin**

* * *

Things were not going to plan and Lloyd didn't like that. Three years of planning and none of it was going accordingly. He knew couldn't put all the blame on the Sons. Some of it was his. Jay was alive and he shouldn't be. Lloyd was one hundred percent sure he was dead but apparently that was incorrect. There was nothing he could do about the situation except wait until he could try to kill him again. This time making no mistakes.

The rest that hadn't gone to plan, were unexpected surprises.

Harumi was the masked girl. Though he had planned on asking her to join him originally this wasn't how. He had let her get close to him while neither knew who the other was. He wondered if Harumi only sought him out the second time because of her parents. Maybe she actually wanted him dead. Maybe she was just playing along to get closer to him. If that were the case he would have to keep a close eye on her. There was no need to having things keep straying from the plan.

Harumi was apparently capable of much more than he had predicted. She was able to sneak off the bounty and make it to the bar without either Nya or Kai noticing. This made her much more valuable to Lloyd but at the same time, more dangerous. Whether or not she had more hidden talents, he would have to discover that.

"Lloyd?" He looked up and saw Nya in front of him. His face softened. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answered and moved towards the side of the ship. She followed and stood next to him. She didn't say anything. He knew what she was doing, she would do this when she knew he wasn't ok but didn't want to talk. It had been awhile since they last sat like this. Thinking back on it, Lloyd and her hadn't done this since after Morro was defeated. Everything that was wrong, he couldn't tell her. No matter how much he wished it, he knew Nya would never join him. If she knew the truth then he would lose the only person left who ever truly cared for him.

And that would break him completely.

"Everything feels wrong." He started and Nya looked at him. Lloyd would tell her what she wanted to hear, to keep her happy or at least from prying too much. "I feel like we're losing even though we haven't yet."

"We won't." She stated. He turned to her.

"How do you know? Because ninja never quit?" He asked almost mockingly. "The Sons of Garmadon plan to resurrect my father and they're two-thirds of the way there!" Lloyd shouted then sighed. "I want nothing more than to see my father but this version of him will be nothing but pure evil."

"You're right, we never quit." She agreed. "But they don't know where the third mask is, that gives us the chance to catch up. We won't let them resurrect your father."

"And what about Jay?" Lloyd asked. "You saw what they did to him just because he knew their plan. They're stronger than us." If it had been anyone else from the Sons of Garmadon, Jay probably would've come out more unscathed than he did.

"Jay was alone, we'll have to stick together and we're stronger together." Nya reminded him. That they were and there laid the problem. He needed to get each and every one of them alone, until none were left. "We'll beat them Lloyd, we always do. Try to get some rest while we wait to hear from Zane and Cole. They found a lead and that means there's hope that we'll win."

"Alright." He agreed and went below deck. He didn't really plan on resting but at least now he could be alone. Lloyd passed by their shared room and saw Jay. Much to his disappointment, Jay survived so far. He had hoped that even though his injuries had been treated that maybe he would still succumb to them. Though that hope hadn't disappeared, Jay could still very much die.

For as long as he could remember, Lloyd had imagined each of the ninja in a painful death. He wanted nothing more than to watch them suffer as they had done to him his whole life. He had just been a child when they met him. None of them cared what happened to him, he had just been an annoying pest in their eyes. That was until he became the Green Ninja. Then they changed and Lloyd knew why. He always knew even if they tried to hide it. He was their weapon to be used whenever they pleased. Just thinking about it brought the anger back to Lloyd, his fist surged with power once more his as it done in Mystake's shop.

"Calm down." Lloyd whispered to himself. He didn't need to risk showing his other abilities to Kai and Nya. They may know he's an Oni but they don't know he's somewhat in control of his powers. No one did except him and now Mystake. She already said she wouldn't meddle in his plans so he had no worries with her knowing. The one thing that did worry him was Harumi. Was she up to something? Did she know it was him behind the mask? Was she just playing at his game? Or was she as oblivious as she seemed? There would be only one way to find out.

He'd have to ask her. It would be easy for him to tell if she was lying.

Lloyd knew she was down here in one of the rooms, probably the same one she snuck into. He checked there first and sure enough she was in there. He knocked before opening the door and walking inside.

"Hello, Lloyd."

"Hello," He greeted her back. "I have question for you or a few really."

"I'm all ears." She answered. He decided to start with a question he knew she would lie about the answer.

"Your family seemed to know a bit about the Sons of Garmadon," Lloyd started and he saw her grow a little nervous. "Are you keeping any information from us that we should know?"

"No!" She answered quickly and looked down at her lap. "Of course not, I'm on your side, Lloyd."

"So you don't know who the leader is?" He asked. This time she looked up.

"No, I don't." She was telling the truth and he knew it. This was good, Lloyd rather tell her himself. That way once she knew, if she couldn't accept he would know to get rid of her or at least keep her away from the others.

"I believe you." He finally answered. "I didn't doubt you, just wanted to make sure." He did his best to reassure her. She smiled at him. Though he couldn't tell her true opinion on the Sons of Garmadon, which made it difficult to determine what she would do. Would she join him or would she reject him?

"I'm glad I am not alone." Harumi quietly admitted. "I wondered what would've happened to me if you hadn't saved me, Lloyd."

"Don't worry, Rumi, you're safe with me, no matter what." He told her. She stood up and walked over to Lloyd. She quickly kissed his cheek.

"Thank you." She said before dashing out of the room. Lloyd reached up and touched his face. Was she still developing feelings for him? If that were the case he could definitely use that to his advantage as well. She should learn to hide her emotions better or he'll have all the leverage he needs.

"Lloyd!" Kai called for him. Lloyd poked his head of the room.

"Yes?"

"We found Cole and Zane! They're at a bar, a bar that the Sons of Garmadon hang out at!" Kai exclaimed as he ran into the room. Lloyd wasn't surprised that the bar had been discovered but the Sons of Garmadon had multiple bases they could go to. He would just have to make sure the ninja didn't follow them to the main base.

"How did you find them?" He asked as he followed Kai to the upper deck.

"Zane." Kai answered. "He's sending over live video of what's going and trust me you'll want to see this." They walked onto the main deck and Lloyd saw Cole singing, terribly and dressed in the worst disguise ever. The fact that his followers had been fooled by it, made him disappointed.

"This is ridiculous." Lloyd mumbled as he watched Cole make a fool of himself. He was so out of tune it made his ears bleed.

"Ridiculously funny." Kai laughed. Lloyd rolled his eyes and backed away. He didn't like that Zane and Cole had made it into the bar and weren't discovered. He needed to fix that immediately. "Where are you going?" Kai asked as Lloyd all but stormed out of the room.

"Kai!" Nya hissed. At first Lloyd was confused by her reaction but then he thought she figured he was upset Kai wasn't taking this seriously. Lloyd went back below deck and activated the comm on his wrist.

"Ultraviolet." Lloyd stated, getting her attention. The comm burst to life, the sounds of the bar could be heard in the background.

_"Yes, Quiet One?"_ She answered immediately. He loved that her whole crazy attitude would change to one of obedience, one could call it, when speaking with him. It showed her loyalty.

"The bar has been infiltrated by ninja." He informed her, getting straight to the point. He heard her slight panic.

_"That's impossible."_ She exclaimed._ "There's no way a ninja would get in here without us noticing or at least someone noticing."_ Despite the fact that he was disappointed he didn't need the ninja gaining any ground on them. That was the only reason he was letting them know that the ninja were there.

"The one singing, he's one of the ninja. I don't care how but get rid of him." Lloyd instructed. "There's another with him as well. I'm not sure what he looks like at the moment but assume he's blending in more than the other." He had to do everything it seemed, Lloyd had hoped that Ultraviolet would be a smarter one but it seemed she really was just crazy.

_"Understood. We will dispose of them."_ Ultraviolet answered without any hesitation. _"I will not fail you, Quiet One."_

"I would hope not. One more thing, the rest of the ninja are on the way. Start evacuating now. And there's a chance you could be followed." He commanded Ultraviolet. "Make sure you go to the second base in the city. Our main base must remain a secret until the end." Lloyd had set up many bases for this exact reason. The main one though wasn't even located on this island which made it all the more difficult to find.

_"Understood."_ She repeated as Lloyd ended the call. He had to rejoin the others before they became suspicious of his disappearance. He returned and found that Cole was still singing that ridiculous song. Kai was still laughing but more quietly than he had been before.

_"The one singing, he's a ninja!"_ Ultraviolet shouted from the balcony. Zane turned to look at her and then back at Cole. _"Get him and find the other ninja! This base has been compromised, head to the second one! Orders from the boss!"_ The members of the Sons of Garmadon began to scramble around. All Lloyd and the others could do was watch. Cole made a break for it but Zane seemed to be doing the opposite. The Sons quickly restrained Cole but none could find Zane.

"We have to help them." Kai said.

"Already on it." Nya stated as she steered the ship towards the bar. "How did they even figure out that they were there?"

"Does it matter?" Lloyd asked. "They clearly need our help." He pointed out.

"Lloyd is right." Kai agreed with him. "Pix, any word from Zane?

"Zane has blocked all communications." Pixal spoke. "I cannot get through to him, he wants us to trust him, he has a plan."

"What plan?" Lloyd asked.

"He did not say."

"We're over the bar, get ready to drop in!" Nya shouted as she ran towards the railing. Kai and Lloyd followed after her. "Harumi, please watch over Jay." She asked the Princess.

"I will." Harumi nodded and watched as the three ninja jumped down off the ship. They hurried across the rooftops and began to lower themselves down. If they could get there fast enough they could save Cole. There was nothing Lloyd could do to slow down Nya and Kai. He'd have to trust that for once he wouldn't have to clean up after the Sons of Garmadon. Lloyd lowered himself down farther than he should have and pretended to slip. When he caught himself, it made a noise the echoed, catching the attention of those nearby.

"We've got ninja!" One of the Sons shouted. Ultraviolet and Mr. E looked in his direction. They both ran for their bikes. Ultraviolet three Cole onto the back of her bike before taking off with a few others. She had gotten away, that he was sure of. Mr. E got on his bike as well but Kai charged in after him. Nya and Lloyd ran after him. As Mr. E began to drive by them, Kai got the bike with a blast fire. The sound of the tires popping, signaled that the bike was going nowhere fast. They chased after Mr. E on foot and trapped him at a dead end.

"What? Out of ideas?" Kai asked mockingly. Mr. E paused and pulled out the Mask of Vengeance. Lloyd paused at the sight of it; he was finally going to get to see it in action.

"You just had to ask!" Nya shouted at Kai, who shrugged. Mr. E put on the mask and Lloyd watched in awe as he grew two arms and easily climbed over the wall. "Come on!" Nya called to him, breaking him out of his daze. He knew there were physical side effects of wearing the masks, but growing new arms is not what he expected. Though he wasn't disappointed, he was excited. He followed after Nya and Kai, he had to make sure Mr. E could get away. With the masks power, Mr. E was much faster and was able to keep a distance ahead. Once Lloyd had all three masks he would be unstoppable.

"Up we go." Nya mumbled and jumped to the first clothes line. Each of them were only able to jump to one line at a time but Mr. E was able to jump every few. Just as he reached the top, he threw two of his swords down at the lines. He cut through the one Kai was on and the one both Nya and Lloyd were on. As they fell, Kai and Nya got wrapped up in the rope Lloyd managed to grab a line on the fall down. He hoisted himself up and looked at the siblings. "Lloyd! Get him, we'll be fine!" Nya said. Lloyd gave her one last look before jumping from clothes line to clothes line. It was very unlikely that Mr. E would even be up there. If he were smart, he would've taken off and joined the others. Lloyd climbed the rest of the way up and found Mr. E was in fact waiting for him, weapons at the ready. He peaked over the edge and saw the two were still tied up. Once he was sure they would hear him, Lloyd turned back to Mr. E.

"We have limited time so I'm going to explain this once." Lloyd explained and lowered his weapon, as did Mr. E. "There is another ninja who you didn't discover, he calls himself Snake Jaguar, take him with you. But keep this information to yourself. I will reveal to the others that there is a ninja with you when I decide to." He quickly instructed and peered over his shoulder every few seconds. Kai and mYa has to be getting close. "I want the ninja to think they're on step closer to beating me." Lloyd finished with a smirk.

"Hang on, Lloyd! We're almost there!" Kai shouted and Lloyd moved farther away from the edge. He dragged Mr. E with him.

"When the time is right, plant the trap I gave you and leave nothing of that nindroid. Do you understand?" He asked. Mr. E nodded. Lloyd knew he wouldn't fail, he was programmed to obey and see every order through. "Now you have to escape, just don't kill me." With a slight nod, Mr. E backed up and then ran at Lloyd. He kicked him right in the abdomen sending him flying. As Lloyd skidded across the roof, Nya and Kai finally reached the top. "Guys!" Lloyd called to them as he went over the edge, unable to grab anything to save himself. Nya quickly dove for him and grabbed his wrist but she continued to slide until Kai grabbed her ankle.

"I got you." Nya smiled at him as Kai pulled them both up. Once they were safe, they all looked around and saw Mr. E had vanished.

"We lost him." Kai grumbled. "That was our only lead!"

"What about Zane?" Nya asked. "And Cole? We can't just leave them."

"If we can't find then then we'll have to assume the Sons of Garmadon have both captured." Lloyd sighed.

"Let's head back to the ship, maybe Pixal can track one or both of them." Nya suggested. "That might be our only choice."

* * *

"Pixal?" Lloyd called as through the control room.

"Yes, Master Lloyd?" She responded.

"Can you trace either Zane or Cole?" Lloyd asked. "We couldn't find them."

"I have Zane's signal at the moment. He is heading to Central Station." Pixal informed them.

"We need a plan." Nya began. "They've probably gone into hiding since we discovered the bar."

"They could be trying to get out of the city or make us lose their trail by going to Central Station." Kai pointed out.

"I agree with Kai." Lloyd said. "We have no advantage at the moment. We just have to trust Zane and his plan."

"And hope that Cole is alright." Nya added.

"I'm afraid I've lost Zane's signal." Pixal suddenly spoke. "It disappeared while he was in Central Station." She explained.

"What about Cole?" Kai asked hopefully.

"I cannot pick up his comms signal. I am sorry." Pixal apologized. "I have lost both their signals."

"This isn't good." Nya admitted. "We're down to three of us. Cole has been kidnapped, Zane, well we don't know exactly what his plan is. And Jay is still unconscious."

"Maybe that was Zane's plan." Lloyd suddenly spoke. Nya, Harumi and Kai looked at him confused. "He went with the Sons of Garmadon and showed allegiance to them."

"That makes a lot of sense." Kai agreed. "We just have to trust Zane will stay safe." Lloyd wanted to laugh. Zane was far from safe as was Cole. Once he revealed to the Sons of Garmadon who Zane really was, the nindroid wouldn't last long. He could not allow for any mistakes, not like with Jay.

"Guys?" Everyone turned to face the doorway. "What's going on?" Jay asked as he held the door frame for support. Harumi came running up behind him.

"I only left him for a minute." She said, but the others were focused elsewhere.

"Jay!"

* * *

_"Ultraviolet, here."_

"I saw that you kidnapped a ninja." Lloyd stated the obvious. He wanted to remind Ultraviolet that he knew everything that was going on, since Zane seemed to have slipped past her.

_"We did, yes."_ She confirmed his statement.

"And where is he now?" Lloyd asked as he paced back forth on the deck of the Bounty. He wanted to make Cole was locked away and not just sitting about.

_"We have him locked in a cell."_ Ultraviolet informed him._ "There are guards with him, there's no chance he'll escape."_ She sounded proud of what she'd done.

"He'll escape, he's a ninja after all." Lloyd said, disregarding her response. He knew Cole would think of something if left alone. "Do not let that happen." He said sternly.

_"I won't."_

"If he escapes, he will go snooping and we don't want that." Lloyd more or else meant he did not want that but Ultraviolet understood clearly. If Cole escaped the fault would be hers and she would have to pay. Whatever that was, was different for every member of the gang. No one ever shared what they experienced either.

_"I will make sure he doesn't, I'll guard his cell myself."_ Ultraviolet decided. Lloyd liked her dedication to stay on his good side. She had never failed him before and he hoped she would continue not to. He liked having her around, after all she was one of the first to approach him about joining his mission.

"Good. I want you to stay at that base until instructed otherwise."

_"I understand, Quiet One."_

"I'll contact you again soon." Lloyd said almost as a warning to her. He ended the call. This could be his chance to take out both Zane and Cole. Mr. E already had orders to take care of Zane when he ordered him to and now Ultraviolet was keeping an eye on Zane. That would just leave him with Kai and….Nya. He sighed and leaned on the ship's railing. He promised himself she would never get hurt...physically but unfortunately that was all he could spare her of.

"Forgive me, Nya, for all that I'm about to do."

**_So sorry for the wait!_**

**_I know Vin already apologized for our small hiatus but I want to as well. Quite a few things happened that took priority but for now we're back and ready to write!_**

**_This chapter was actually rewritten twice because we couldn't decide how to begin it. So we hope you like what we chose in the end._**

**_We'll update soon!_**

**_~Kai_**


	9. VIII

**Review Responses:**

**_LlorumiForever:_ Well Lloyd went out of hearing range when he spoke to Mr. E. But is Lloyd going to attack Nya?**

**_NinjagoFangurl7:_ we're glad to hear you think our story is hella cool!**

**_naoninja:_ your wait is over! Sorry you had to wait so long though!**

**_fnafan8008:_ sorry no hints on what's going to happen! We don't do spoilers here!**

**We never really specified what Lloyd's age is in this especially because we mention he started planning this three years ago in the story.**

**So we talked it over and decided for this AU Lloyd was 14 when he started his mission and is now 17 in the story.**

**Also can we talk about how awesome The Wicked Whip is? Neither of us can stop listening to it. We also haven't seen any of season 11 so no spoilers please!**

**-Vin**

* * *

Lloyd was in control of the game; all his pawns, his puppets, were doing exactly as he commanded. One step out of line and he's cut the puppet's strings.

Cole was his prisoner.

Zane's cover would soon be blown.

And the masked girl was no longer a mystery, but was in fact Harumi. It would only be a matter of time before she too was under his control. Then that would leave him with Kai, Nya and Samurai X. But as before, Lloyd already had a plan for the Samurai. It was practically fool proof. The time to take down Samurai X would come after Zane was disposed of.

"Lloyd? You there buddy?" Jay's voice rang through the comms. Buddy.

"Yeah I'm here." He answered.

"You should be nearing Central Station according to Pixal." Jay informed him.

"Alright, thanks." Lloyd, Kai and Nya had split up to search for Zane and Cole. Jay wasn't allowed to leave the bounty due to his injuries but he wanted to help. Lloyd was currently riding atop a train heading for Central Station, also known as Zane's last location. He already knew he wouldn't find Zane or Cole here or any sign of them. The secret passage to the base was well hidden. Only a member of the gang would know how to find it and reveal it, even then it had to be a higher up member, someone trusted.

Lloyd hopped off the train and walked through the crowded station. There was no clue as to where the Sons went. He was proud that they actually covered their tracks well. Then again Mr. E and Ultraviolet were with them. Those two were very careful not to make any mistakes. Lloyd pretended to continue searching the station for the two missing ninja.

"There's no sign of either of them, the trail's gone cold." Lloyd spoke over the comms.

"Same here." Kai joined in.

"Then there's nothing to do but trust that Zane's plan goes well." Nya sighed. "You two should come back to the bounty. I've already returned."

"We'll be there soon, sis." Kai answered. "Lloyd, I'm on my way to your location."

"I think I've got something that could help Zane." She said before the comms went silent. What could she have that could possibly help Zane, Lloyd wondered. He doubted it was anything to worry about but he would have to wait and see. As he was waiting for Kai to pick him, he received a message from Mr. E.

_'The final piece for the ritual is yours, we've have it locked away. And your spies are awaiting your order to capture your mother.'_

Even more good news for his plan. It took a while to find that missing piece of the ritual, almost year. There was a point when Lloyd thought he wouldn't be able to do the ritual. But things were starting to fall into place, just how he wanted."

* * *

"A bike?" Kai questioned. They were all gathered below the deck of the bounty. Nya had an almost fully working motorcycle set up.

"I had some parts laying around." She explained. "Plus how can Zane stay undercover in a biker gang without a bike?" She reminded the boys.

"She has a point." Lloyd said to Kai who just nodded in response.

"Zane May need this at any moment, so I need to finish it fast." Nya continues to explain.

"I think that's our que to leave." Kai and started to walk out of the room. Lloyd followed behind him. As they were both easing back up to the deck, Jay came out of their shared room.

"Hey guys?" He called to them. The two stopped and turned around. "Could I talk to you both?" He asked. Kai and Lloyd nodded and went into their shared room. They all sat down and waited for Jay to say something. It was clear something was bothering him.

"Jay, are you alright?" Kai finally asked, breaking the silence. Jay laughed a little.

"I think it's obvious that I'm not ok." Jay said. "But I think we all know that."

"If there's something you want to talk about with us," Lloyd started and took a quick glance at Kai before returning his gaze to Jay. "You know we'll listen." Jay sat silent again, tapping his foot constantly. He hadn't been able to shake the fear that he had felt when he was attacked. Despite that, he still wanted to tell Lloyd and Kai everything he could about the person who attacked him, because he was ninety percent sure that person was the leader.

"Are sure you want to do this now?" Kai asked. Jay nodded and shifted in his seat.

"I want to help and this might be the only way I can." He explained. They hadn't let Jay do much, due to his injuries. Nya and Kai wanted him to recover before they let him leave the Bounty. They had almost lost him once, and with Cole and Zane MIA, they didn't want to risk losing him too. "I had just received Lloyd's text that he was going to be a while so I started to head back towards our rendezvous point." Jay took a breath. "But I never even got the chance to make it there."

"This person, do you think they were spying on you the whole time?" Kai asked. Jay shook his head.

"I only noticed that I was being watched after I started walking. There was no one else with me until then." Jay said. "I also think the person who attacked me was the leader."

"Really?" Kai asked and leaned forward a little. "Do you think you could remember any details that stuck out? Something that could give us an idea of who they are?" Jay sat quietly and thought for a moment.

"Their eyes." He remembered. "They were blood red. And their voice…" he closed his eyes.

"It's ok, Jay, you don't have to continue." Lloyd told him. He wasn't surprised that Jay remembered details of what he looked like. He knew there was no way Jay would know it was him.

"No I'm fine, it's ok." Jay stated. "Their voice sounded like a demon, and the way he fought, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't human."

"So they didn't look or sound like a normal Son of Garmadon?" Kai asked and Jay shook his head.

"The last thing I remember is what they said to me." Jay started. "Your enemy is always closer than you think."

"What do you think he meant by that?" Lloyd asked. He realized he had gone silent again and needed to act like he was interested in what Jay had to say. It was something Lloyd was finding more and more difficult with each passing day.

"I think," he paused. "I think we're being watched by the Sons of Garmadon."

"If that's true then we'll never catch up to the Sons of Garmadon, they'll know exactly what we're planning." Lloyd made the other two realize.

"Unless we're careful with what we say and do until we figure out how they're watching us." Kai pointed out. "I'm going to tell Nya." He said and walked out of the room. That left Jay and Lloyd in silence. Jay stood up after a moment and made his way over to the mirror in the room. He touched the bandage around his eye and then turned to Lloyd.

"Could you undo the bandage?" He asked. Lloyd hesitated but then decided he wanted to see his handiwork on Jay's eye.

"You've barely had any time to let it heal, I think you should let be for a while longer." Lloyd suggested, he didn't want to immediately agree. Jay shook his head.

"I need to see what they did to me." Jay stated. "I need to see… I need to see." he repeated quietly. Lloyd sighed and stood up. He carefully undid the bandage and gave Jay one last chance before he removed it. Once he did, Jay took a deep breath before facing the mirror. His eye was a mess, at least that would be the easiest way to put it. He forced his eye open with a cry of pain before instantly shutting it. Jay dropped to his knees and covered his eyes with his hands. "I can't see."

"What?" Lloyd asked.

"I can't see out of my eye." Jay said and sat there for a moment. "I'm blind in one eye." The blue ninja was starting to break much to Lloyd's amusement. One by one they would fall, it was only a matter of time at this point. Though instead of showing amusement, he showed concern and helped Jay cover his eye back up. They both sat there on the ground, until Jay had calmed back down.

"I didn't think I was going to need an eyepatch again but then I guess my reflection wouldn't have made sense." Jay laughed quietly. "I could've stopped them, I could've fought harder."

"It could have been any of us, Jay." Lloyd reminded him. But it couldn't have been any of them, he had specifically chosen Jay out of the others, thinking he would be the easiest to kill. But he was wrong. Maybe it would be Zane who was the easiest, in a few hours he would know the answer to that.

"But it wasn't!" Jay shouted. "It was me and I let you guys down."

"You didn't let us down, we're just happy that you're alive." Lloyd said. "We thought we were going to lose you, each one of us wished we could take your place." Jay remained silent. "The Sons are a different type of enemy than we've fought before, we have no idea what they're planning save for the resurrection of my father."

"I know you probably want to stop these guys badly but if see that leader again, Lloyd, I'm going to end them myself." Jay admitted and that shocked Lloyd. He knew Jay was just as strong as the others but he was the one who usually tried to avoid the fight. To hear he wanted to be the one to end it was different.

"Jay that's not like you, we don't kill our enemies." Lloyd pointed out but Jay just shook his head and walked over to his bed. When he realized that Jay was done with talking he walked out of the room and went to the room farthest from everyone on the ship.

Lloyd decided it was about time to reveal that Zane was among the Sons of Garmadon. He had let Zane have his fun but now it was Lloyd's turn. And Lloyd's fun was oh so much better.

"_What do you want?_" Ultraviolet answered the phone aggressively. Lloyd stood there shocked for a second.

"I don't believe that's anyway to speak to me." He spoke, a clear warning in his voice.

"_Quiet One, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was you._" She quickly apologized. "_How can I be of service?_"

"That's more like it. Where is Snake Jaguar at the moment?" Lloyd asked.

"_The new guy?_" Ultraviolet questioned. "_The gang is taking him to the teeth to see if he can ride with us._" She explained. Lloyd rolled his eyes, he had hoped maybe Kilo would at least recognize Zane as one the ninja; his disguise wasn't all that good.

"Well you see that's going to be a problem." Lloyd started. "Snake Jaguar is one of the ninjas. He must not live."

"_What? That's impossible!_" She exclaimed. "_There's no way a ninja would slip past us._"

"Well one did. See to it that the ninja known as Zane doesn't make it." Lloyd instructed.

"You're the quiet one!" A voice announced from behind him. Lloyd turned around surprised but relaxed when he saw it was only Harumi.

"_I'll tell Kilo right away._" Ultraviolet said as Lloyd hung up on her, much more interested in his new situation. This wasn't how he had planned for her to find out but he could work with this.

"You caught me." He said with a smirk. He was honestly surprised that Harumi hadn't immediately left the room to tell the others of her discovery. She could've done it without ever letting him know she was there, but she announced her presence. Lloyd slowly made his way around her towards the door, she never took her eyes off of him and neither spoke for a minute. He reached the door, shut it quietly and then locked it. No one else needed to walk in on this conversation.

"I should tell the others." Harumi said quietly and moved for the door but Lloyd stepped between her and the only escape. It was far too late for her to get out of here and she only just realized it.

"Why do that when you can join me?" He asked. She seemed taken back by his offer. "We both know deep down you want to." She shook her head and turned her back to him.

"That's a lie." She answered. "I'd never join you." Lloyd laughed.

"Come on, Rumi." Lloyd walked towards her. "Now we both know_ that_ is a lie. I know you're the masked girl who came and visited me." She tensed up. He might as well tell her that he knows, he'd need everything he knew to get her to join him.

"How did you know?" Harumi asked, her voice a little shaky. Lloyd leaned down next to her and whispered in her ear.

"I'm the Quiet One, I know everything, Princess." Lloyd laughed quietly. "Nothing goes on in this city anymore without me knowing."

"What do you want?" She asked and turned to face him. They were inches away from each other.

"For you to join me, I thought that was clear when I asked the first time." He said. "When my father becomes the Emperor of Ninjago, I'll be the Prince and I could use a Princess by my side." Lloyd held out his hand. "Join me, Rumi."

"Join you?"

"I asked you once before today, you never gave me an answer." He reminded her and stepped closer. There was clear hesitation in her eyes. Lloyd would have to take it up a notch. "Remember what you told me? How the day the Great Devourer attacked, your parents died." Lloyd began and Harumi nodded. "Well it was my father, Lord Garmadon, who saved the day not those ninja. They were supposed to stop it before it reached the city but they didn't." He explained to her. It was the truth, the only part Lloyd left out was that the reason the Great Devourer escaped was because of him. But she didn't need to know that. "Wouldn't you rather stand with the one who avenged your parents than those who failed them?"

"My parents should've lived." Harumi stated and slowly started to reach her hand towards his.

"You're right, they should've." Lloyd agreed with her. "And you love me don't you?" He brushed a piece of her hair out of the way. "Come on, I've noticed the way you've looked at me." He told her and she nodded as she looked down.

"I do." She whispered. Lloyd smirked.

"And I love you." He lied with a sickening smile. "Don't let this separate us, the ninja see you as a helpless Princess but I see the potential of a warrior in you." Just as he thought he finally had her wrapped around his finger, she took a step back.

"But you...you killed the Emperor and Empress." Harumi reminded him and he sighed. Of course she would bring that up.

"Their deaths were unfortunate but necessary, and I didn't kill them, those who work for me did. You don't hate me for that right?" He asked, she still seemed unsure. Lloyd couldn't lose her now. He needed her on his side. "I mean they weren't actually your parents." Her face changed at those words, but Lloyd couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Was I meant to die that night?" Harumi asked and looked up at him, she had a slight fear in her eyes. Lloyd took a step forward and shook his head.

"No, never." He answered, making his voice as sincere as possible. Yes, she was. "So, will you join me?" She nodded after a moment and took his hand. Lloyd pulled her into a hug and sighed. The final piece of his game was in place. Nothing could go wrong now. He was in control.

"I'll help you see this through, Lloyd." She told him and pulled away from the hug.

"I know. I just have one favor to ask of you." He said.

"Anything."

"Pretend to be the Quiet One when I need you to be. The ninja can't know who I am yet." Lloyd instructed.

"I understand." She answered and he kissed her cheek.

"Ninjago will bow to us, Rumi, just you wait." Lloyd laughed.

"Lloyd! Harumi! Come upstairs, Pixal just picked up Zane's location!" Nya spoke over the speaker.

"Ok, Nya." Lloyd responded before giving Harumi a look.

"I won't say a word to them, I swear." She said.

"I know you won't." Lloyd answered and they exited the room, quickly making their way up.

"My cover has been blown but the Mask of Deception is in my sight." Zane spoke through the comms as the two entered the room. Well it seemed Ultraviolet revealed who Zane truly was just like he ordered her to.

"Scanning it now." Pixal announced.

"I don't know how much longer I can stay in this race, this particular motorcycle took a beating." Zane explained as he struggled to keep up.

"Don't worry, we got a new bike coming to you. Just hang on a bit longer." Nya said.

"I don't know who's in charge but I did leave their leader goes by The Quiet One." Zane explained as he drove off. "From what I can gather, he's feared but respected among the Sons of Garmadon. And I do not believe any of the members know themselves save for a few." So Zane learned a tiny bit while he was undercover, nothing that would endanger the plan though. It was of no concern to Lloyd.

"That doesn't really help us." Kai sighed. "That's just a name. If it really came down to it, someone could claim they are the leader as a way to protect the true leader." Well he wasn't wrong, there were already two people in the Sons of Garmadon who were ordered to pose as the Quiet One if Lloyd really needed them to.

"Kai's right, we need to find out more." Jay suggested. "All we have is their leader's title, we don't even have a name or a location for their base."

"We will find out more, but let's focus on finding Cole and making sure Zane makes it through the race." Lloyd interrupted. He'd have to keep them off his trail for as long as possible. Harumi gave him a small glance but he chose to ignore it.

"Guys...co-...in!" A static voice rang over the comms. Everyone froze and waited to see if the voice spoke again. "Guys! Can you hear me?"

"Cole! You're alright!" Kai cheered. This took Lloyd by surprise. Cole was supposed to be locked away in the hideout. Ultraviolet said she would see to it herself that he didn't escape. It would seem she failed him. He'd have to deal with her later.

"Barely, but I'll live and I could use a pick up." Cole said. Nya was already locking onto his position and setting a course.

"Just sit tight we're on our way to your location." Nya informed him as the ship took off in the opposite direction of the race.

"Ok, also just know I'm bringing someone with me." Cole sounded a little off as he said that. "I just couldn't leave him behind with them." Lloyd was confused had someone from the Sons decided to leave? That didn't sound right at all.

"Who?" He asked.

* * *

"Is that a baby?"

"No it's a puppy." Cole mocked Kai. "Yes it's a baby, the Sons had him, said he was some sort of key to a ritual." Cole stepped forward carefully. "Can someone take him?" Nya took the baby from his arms and he allowed himself to sink to the floor. Kai went right to his side, followed by Jay.

"Jay! What happened?" His face grew worried. Kai and Jay each grabbed an arm and helped Cole up, bringing him over to a chair.

"I'll tell you later but I'll be alright eventually, let's just worry about you." Jay said and they started to clean up the inquire he had. Lloyd looked at the baby in Nya's arms. So not only had Ultraviolet allowed for Cole to escape but he also stole an important piece of the resurrection ritual.

"Where is Zane?" Cole asked as he looked around. "Is he still with the Sons?"

"We're tracking him right now, he is racing with the Sons, or he was before his cover was blown." Nya explained and passed the baby to Harumi. "Pixal set a course to follow him after we picked you up."

"It's no good if we're all split up." Cole said quietly as took a quick glance at Jay.

"It's obvious we're no match for them when it's just one of us but we're a team, we stick together." Lloyd reminded them and they smiled.

"Lloyd's right, we can fight them if we stick together so no more splitting up." Jay agreed.

"I've lost Zane's signal and he is not responding." Pixal stated quickly.

"Is it his doing?" Lloyd asked. He needed to know if Mr. E got the job done.

"I do not believe so." Pixal answered sadly. "Zane May be in danger."

"I'm putting her at full speed, we'll find him." Nya said and ran out of the room, followed by the others. Harumi lingered however as she was still holding the baby. After a moment had passed and she was sure the others wouldn't hear her, she spoke.

"Why is the baby important?" She asked.

"I need certain family members for the ritual to bring back my father." Lloyd stated and looked at the baby. "At least I can keep an eye on him here, he's safer in my hands than those who work for me it would seem."

"How is the baby related to you?" She asked.

"He's my Uncle." Lloyd answered. "We thought he was lost to time but I was able to track him down a few months ago, I didn't expect to find him as a baby."

"Why do you need family members though?" She asked as Lloyd received a message.

"Let's save that for the ritual." He answered and allowed the message to come through.

"_The_ _trap_ _has_ _been_ _set_." Mr. E's voice came through. So now even if they could find Zane, Lloyd was sure he would be out of commission and carrying the trap.

"I think we should join the others." Lloyd decided and walked out of the room with Harumi trailing behind. They made it to the upper deck where the others were frantically staring at the map.

"We need to find him, something is clearly wrong." Jay reminded everyone as if they didn't already know that.

"We will. I'm setting a course to follow the path that the Sons of Garmadon took." Nya explained and the ship took off. Lloyd looked at the room around him, each of the ninjas were breaking, there was no way they'd be able to fight back against him. Cole was hurt from his fun with Sons of Garmadon, Jay was still recovering and getting used to the fact that he only had one eye. Zane, well as far as Lloyd was concerned, he wouldn't have to worry about Zane ever again, regardless if they found him or not.

That left Kai, the one who was very protective of Lloyd, who saw him as a little brother. He would be Lloyd's favorite to break. After all, one always saves the best for last.

* * *

**_And there we have it! A new chapter after almost two months of no updates! I know last time we updated we said the updates would be more frequent and they weren't. This time we mean it._**

**_This chapter was not really edited. But will be eventually._**

**_See you for the next update!_**

**_~Kai_**


	10. IX

**We live!! Yes it's been almost a year since we updated and we are very sorry about that!**

**-Vin**

**_I went through a very rough mental patch and couldn't bring myself to write so Vin patiently waited until I was well enough to again._**

**_I know a lot of you asked for an update over these past months and we love that you guys wanted more! So we tried to make this chapter as exciting as we could without ruining the rest of the story._**

_**Enjoy guys!**_

_**~Kai **_

The Destiny's Bounty hovered low with a spotlight aimed at the ground. The ninja were desperate to find Zane. They hadn't heard from or been able to track him since his last transmission. However thanks to the multiple motorcycle tracks left behind, they were able to find the route the Sons took. Each one of the ninja peered over the side of the ship, save for Nya who was steering.

Lloyd knew it was only a matter of time until they came across the remains of Zane. If Mr. E had done as asked it would take a while for them to repair Zane and there weren't many spare parts on the ship. So that meant any chance of Zane aiding them and telling them what he knew was very low. The sun had set now, making it even more difficult to find him, since they only had one spot light.

"We're never going to find him, are we?" Jay mumbled quietly. Cole placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him, Jay, we're not losing anyone to Sons of Garmadon." Cole said. "We saved you, I escaped and we are going to find Zane, alive." Jay just nodded and continued to peer over the railing. Lloyd has realized that even though Jay had lived, he had still killed a part of him. The joyous, optimistic part of him was gone. Lloyd was hopeful that this meant when the time came, Jay wouldn't put up as much of a fight as before. Cole on the other hand, he may still be a problem. There was only supposed to be Nya and Kai left to deal with. Jay should've been dead, Cole should still be locked up and Zane was hopefully dead. But with the way things had gone so far, Lloyd was uncertain if Zane really was gone. The ninja had proved difficult to get rid of.

"I found him!" Kai shouted and Nya halted the ship. "Lloyd, will you come with me?" He asked and Lloyd nodded. They each tossed a rope over the edge and slid down into the sand.

"Zane!" Lloyd called over to him and was happy when he didn't get a response, this was a good sign. Of course he still put on a face of worry. Kai made it to Zane's side first.

"He's not responding." Kai said. "Cole, Jay, can you send down a gurney? Zane is in really bad shape." Lloyd and Kai carefully picked up Zane and carried him over to the gurney. Mr. E had done a wonderful job ending Zane. And now to wait and see if the trap had truly been planted. He watched as Zane was lifted into the sky and then followed Kai back up the rope.

Nya rushed Zane below the deck, so her and Pixel could start to fix him. Though he was in such bad shape Lloyd had a feeling they wouldn't be able to. After a while, Nya called everyone below deck so she could explain Zane's condition.

"Well he's alive." Nya said as they all crowded in the room. "But we can't do much to help him here. We don't have some of the parts we need and he needs to reboot himself. That part we can't help him with.

"How bad is he really?" Jay asked.

"There's extensive damage to all his systems. The neural net and cognitive cores took the most damage." Pixal explained. "I was able to divert some power to his critical life functions."

"So there's nothing we can do?" Harumi asked. Lloyd couldn't tell if she actually cared or was just trying to put up an act. He would have to ask her later, if he remembered.

"We keep moving, we have to stay ahead of the Sons." Lloyd spoke up. "We have to keep them from getting the baby back."

"I still don't get how a baby is a key." Kai wondered. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"I know it doesn't but it's what I heard." Cole explained. "They said that the Quiet One needs him for a ritual and that he was the missing key."

"In the case we should get as far from the city as possible." Lloyd said. He needed them to fly in the direction of the forest, to make it easier.

"That doesn't seem right." Jay disagreed. "We can't just abandon Ninjago City."

"We're not abandoning the city, there are others who can take our place while we're gone." Lloyd reminded them.

"Like who though?" Jay asked.

"Samurai X." Nya pointed out. "Whoever they are."

"Whoever they are, I trust them to protect the city, until we can come back." Lloyd said and looked up at the computer screen. "Pixal, can you set a new course? Take us anywhere but Ninjago City."

"Understood." She spoke.

Lloyd walked above deck, Harumi followed closely behind him. The others had decided to remain below and watch over Zane and the baby. He peered over the side of the ship and watched the raging storm below.

"My father told me they called this Dead Man's Squall." Lloyd broke the silence, minus the rumbles of thunder.

"Do you remember much about your father before he left when you were younger?" She asked cautiously. "When he was.." She trailed off.

"Evil?" Lloyd questioned and she nodded. "Bits and pieces. I remember more after I became the green ninja. But despite the fact that he was evil, he never once did anything that purposely put me in danger. What about your parents? Your real ones, I mean."

"When I dream, it's like they're really still with me and I feel so happy." She sighed. "But then when I wake up and they're gone again." Lloyd placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're not alone anymore, Rumi." He reassured her and this surprised himself. Though he did not have feelings for her the way she did for him, he still had grown to at least care about her. Maybe it was because she was the one person who truly understood having their family ripped away from them. She smiled at him.

"Neither are you. Whatever happens, I'll be here." She said. They returned to their silence for a moment before Lloyd decided to let her in on the plan he had put into place.

"There was a trap implanted on Zane." He began to explain. This quickly grabbed Harumi's attention.

"So you wanted the others to find him." She realized. Lloyd nodded.

"Yes, the plan was to leave him out in the open so he could easily be found." Lloyd continued. "The trap is Samurai X, I am going to hack them."

"How though?" She asked. "Samurai X is a person."

"Except they're not. Samurai X is Pixal." He revealed. "I am going to hack her systems here on the ship which is connected to her physical body."

"I'm not sure I'm following the plan."

"I'm going to have Samurai X attack the Destiny's Bounty. We'll use Samurai's mech to escape while she continues to attack and distract the others." Lloyd explained his plan. "I'll let you know when the time to escape is, but know that it's happening soon." She nodded and he started to walk away.

"Can everyone come to control?" Pixal's voice rang out. "There's been a development."

"Come on." Lloyd said and he and Harumi went back into the ship. Everyone was already in the control room except Cole when they got there.

"I was trying to help Zane repair himself when I stumbled across something." She explained and played a recording that sounded garbled. Lloyd instantly recognized it as the communication Mr. E had sent him. Zane has managed to record it before he powered down. That would mean, given enough time, they would trace the communication back to the ship. Harumi would have to take the role as the Quiet One. He couldn't let them discover his identity yet.

"What is it?" Nya asked.

"A communication between Mr. E and the Quiet One." Pixal explained. "Zane was able to intercept and record the communication before he fell unconscious. The message itself was encrypted but I was able to decipher it."

_"The trap has been set._" Lloyd wanted to yell in frustration, they knew a trap was coming. At least they didn't know what it was or when it was happening. He'd have to act soon or they'd discover the trap hidden in Zane.

"A trap?" Jay questioned.

"Classic for a bad guy." Kai joked trying to lighten the mood.

"If Mr. E sent a message," Nya started, completely ignoring Kai. "Maybe we can trace it and find the Quiet One's location. Pix, think you can do it?" Lloyd saw Harumi glance at him quickly. She knew this could mean trouble for them.

"I have already started."

"How long do you think it will take?" Lloyd asked. He needed to know how much time he had before the communication was tracked.

"I am unsure, the storm is making it difficult, but if we could lower the ship out of the storm, it may help." She offered.

"The storm is hiding us though." Harumi pointed out. "The Sons will be able to see us."

"Harumi is right." Lloyd agreed with her. "We can't risk being spotted." If he could drag out the trace for as long as possible it would work to his advantage and allow him to warn Harumi.

"So where do we go then?" Jay asked as Cole burst through the door, holding a map.

"We go here!" He said triumphantly. Lloyd looked at the map in disbelief. How did Cole have the map to the third mask? "It was with the baby the whole time, the map that leads to the last Oni Mask." Those idiots had wrapped the baby in the map? He knew some of them were stupid but he didn't think they could be this stupid.

"Let's go to the other room so we can look at the map." Kai suggested and they all started to walk out. Lloyd and Harumi exited last, giving Lloyd the chance to pull her aside.

"If they trace that communication, it will lead back here. I need you to pretend you're the Quiet One if they do." He explained quietly. "Though they'll probably assume it's you anyways." She nodded.

"I can do that."

"Let's go join the others, I have a mess to clean up now." Lloyd said just before they entered the room. Cole has laid the map out on the table.

"This has to be Central Ninjago." Nya concludes after studying the map for a moment. "Which would lead me to guess that the X is where the mask is but I don't recognize this part."

"It looks like Primevals Eye." Jay noted and everyone looked at him surprised. "What?" He asked. "So I know things alright? Look either way I know that's gotta be it."

"What do you know about it?" Kai asked. Jay sighed.

"It's an uncharted and very dangerous forest, anyone who's ever gone in there to map it out, has never returned." Jay explained what little knowledge was known about the place. "From what I'm guessing, we're pretty close to the forest anyways." Lloyd had never wished more that Jay was dead right now. He should've made sure he was dead before he left him after the fight. He could only blame himself for this part. However this was the perfect opportunity to activate the trap. He subtly reached and pressed a button on his wrist, sending a signal to the trap in Zane. A moment later the whole ship shook and the lights went out.

"What's going on?" Kai asked.

"Only one way to find out, we need to get to the bridge." Nya said as they all rushed out of the room. Lloyd noticed that Harumi turned around and grabbed the map. She folded it up and stuck it in her pocket. That was smart of her to grab, since he didn't know this forest at all. "Pixal!" Nya called out. "Pixal? Can you hear us?"

"Maybe it's a power failure." Kai suggested.

"Or it's a trap." Jay guessed.

"Jay could be right, the backup generators would've kicked in if it were just a power failure." Nya warned.

"Emergency! Emergency!" Pixal suddenly came back online. "Something foreign has been introduced into my system. We are being tracked and I have lost control of the ship."

"How did something even get on board?" Jay asked. Kai stepped forward and looked at Zane.

"It had to be on Zane, they wanted us to find him!" He realized.

"Proximity alarm! Something approaching the bounty fast!" Pixal warned. "It is Samurai X."

"Perfect timing, they must be here to help." Cole said with some relief.

"That is unlikely." Pixal hesitated.

"Why?" Cole asked, clearly confused.

"Because my systems are overrun." She explained.

"Pix, you're not making any sense. What do your systems have to do with Samurai X?" Kai asked.

"This is a bad time for a confession," She started. "However, I am Samurai X." She finished as her voice became distorted and faded. They all sat there in disbelief. A blast suddenly shook the ship. Everyone looked outside to see what had just happened.

"She's targeting the thrusters." Nya shouted. "We've already lost one." She turned to Lloyd. "If we lose that second one,"

"We'll drop out of the sky." He finished for her. "Nya, I need you to try and find whatever is messing with Pixal's system. The rest of us are going to have to fight off Pixal. Jay you may have to keep that lightning away from us." Lloyd quickly explained. They all ran outside and started to look around for Pixal.

"We can't see a thing with this storm." Kai pointed out. "I think it's time to light this place up." He shot a burst of fire into the sky, making it somewhat easier to see. Lloyd passed Harumi a sword. She looked nervous to take it but did so anyway.

"There!" Lloyd called out and shot a burst of energy at Pixal but he purposely missed. She then landed on the ship and pulled out her sword. Jay was the first to attack Pixal, though she easily tossed him to the side. Kai and Cole tried next but again Pixal came out stronger as she kicked Kai off the side of the ship and grabbed Cole before tossing him out of the way. She made her way over to Lloyd and Harumi. Pixal swung her sword but Lloyd was able to dodge it continuously. She gave up on him and grabbed Harumi instead.

"Lloyd!" She shrieked. He gave her a slight nod. He only hoped she understood that this was meant to happen. Pixal was quick to jump off the ship with Harumi, giving Lloyd a short window of opportunity to follow. He quickly ran to the other side of the ship and took a deep breath before jumping off. He landed on the back of the mech just barely. Lloyd climbed around to the front of the mech and looked at Pixal.

"Samurai X, return to the ship and finish the job!" Lloyd instructed. "But leave us the mech."

"I only take orders from the Quiet One." Samurai X stated. He had forgotten that the Samurai had never seen his face.

"I am the Quiet One." Lloyd informed her and revealed his tattoo. Samurai X glanced at it for a moment before nodding.

"Understood, Quiet One." Samurai X said and ejected from the mech, flying back to the bounty. Lloyd moved Harumi from the hand of the mech into the seat.

"What about you?" She asked. Lloyd took one look at her and saw nothing but fear.

"I'll be fine." Lloyd reassured her and stood on the mech's shoulder, holding on tight. "We're going to make it through this." He told her. He reached for the controls of the mech and started to lower it to the ground. He didn't really expect Harumi to know how to control the mech. The descent to the ground would be easy from here. Until a bolt of lightning struck the mech, shutting off its power. The mech began to fall with Harumi in it. However Lloyd was knocked off of it and in a desperate last attempt, he used his powers to slow his fall. Though it wasn't enough as he felt something snap in his arm as he hit the ground too fast and hard. He groaned in pain as he sat up. The mech had crashed nearby, so Lloyd knew he could easily find Harumi or maybe she'd find him first. As Lloyd knelt on the ground holding his arm, the Destiny's Bounty flew above, heading straight for the ground. At least he had bought himself some time to get to the last mask before the ninja did. Using his powers, he started to heal his arm, snapping the bone back into place. He grunted in pain as the process hurt just as much as when it broke. Even after he healed it, his arm was still very sore. Lloyd pressed a button on his wrist comm.

"_Yes, boss?_" Kilo's voice came through.

"The princess and I landed in the forest, separate from the ninja. Though they did crash nearby. I need you to find their ship and capture them." Lloyd commanded as he searched for something to use to keep his arm in place

"_You got it, how do you expect us to find them though?_" Kilo asked. "_This forest is pretty big_."

"I don't care how, figure it out!" Lloyd yelled in frustration. "Just capture them, I don't need them ruining my plans." Lloyd picked up a large leaf and manipulated it into a makeshift sling.

"_Sorry, Quiet One, I'll see to it personally_." Kilo responded. "_I'll capture those ninja_."

"You better or I'll find someone who can." Lloyd threatened him. Before he ended the communication, he noticed how close the Sons were to him. "You're near my position, I need supplies before continuing."

"_We'll be right there, Quiet One_." Kilo answered as Lloyd cut the communication. He heard something rustle behind him and then a voice.

"Lloyd?"

**Who do you think it is? I want to hear your guesses.**

**I'm also curious, how do you guys want to see this story end? Do you want to see Lloyd win or lose?**

**I mean, we already know, but we want to hear your guesses.**

**-Vin**

**_I only sort of proofread this, oops. _**

**_~Kai_**


	11. X

**Welcome back everyone! I hope you're ready for a rollercoaster of emotions! This is a chapter Kai and I had planned from the beginning so we are super excited we finally get to show it to you all.**

**_We put a lot of effort into this chapter and changed it up quite a bit before we decided it was good enough to post. We really hope you enjoy it!_**

**_~Kai_**

* * *

_Lloyd stood on the edge of a dock watching the sunset over the water. He took a deep breath and let the sea breeze hit his face. The ninja and him had just recently caught a huge fish who was causing troubles in these waters. Though it wasn't really a job for a ninja, it was nice to do something other than fighting. The dock creaked as someone approached behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder._

_"If your dad was here, you know he'd tell you how proud he is." Kai mused. Lloyd turned to face him._

_"Where's this coming from?" He asked. Kai shrugged._

_"I just thought you should hear it. You've become such a great leader for the team, Ninjago would be lost without you." Kai explained. "Your father may not be here to tell you but I am."_

_"I miss him." Lloyd sighed. "With my dad gone, sometimes I wonder if I really am making him proud. But I also wonder what I might become in the future, and if he'd still be proud of me then." He wondered._

_"I was like that after my dad died, I started to lose my way." Kai started. "But luckily I had my sister to keep me on track. And now it's my turn to watch over you." Kai said and ruffled Lloyd's hair._

_"Hey, hey!" Lloyd swatted at his hands. "Watch the hair." He laughed._

_"Come on guys! We're taking a picture with the fish!" Jay shouted for them._

* * *

_Lloyd had no strength left to keep himself above the water any longer. He could feel his body sinking deeper and deeper, the sounds of the ninja fading. His eyes slipped shut just as someone grabbed his tunic. Lloyd emerged from the water with whoever grabbed him. They held a tight grip on him as they kept them both above the water._

_"Hold on, buddy, I got you." Kai mumbled as they floated in the water. Lloyd rested his head on Kai's shoulder. He would've tried to help but as mentioned before he had no strength left. He was deadweight._

_"Cole! Grab them!" Lloyd heard just as he was pulled from the water by said person. Kai laid him down on the ground and sat with him as the others fought Moro. He tuned out the rest of the voices as he laid there catching his breath. Between being possessed and struggling against the water, he could barely move. It was a miracle he was even alive. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes._

_"Lloyd?" Kai asked worriedly. "Can you hear me?" Lloyd only nodded in response as Kai helped him sit up. The others gathered around and they all sat for a moment, each catching their breath and giving Lloyd a moment before they moved him._

_"Moro got the crystal." Cole mumbled the obvious. No one else had said it yet but someone had to eventually._

_"Then we will get it back." Zane assured. "We will just have to figure out where he is going."_

_"I'm sure we will, but we should get Lloyd back to Sensei and his mother." Kai pointed out. "He and I are both soaked and this cold air is not helping. Plus we don't know if he has any injuries."_

_"Kai is right." Zane admitted. They each stood and waited as Kai helped Lloyd stand. He placed the younger one's arm over his shoulder, so he could help him walk._

_"Just tell me if you need to stop." Kai told Lloyd._

_"I think I'll be ok but I'll tell you, don't worry." Lloyd said. Kai helped Lloyd through the cave, just trailing behind the others. "Why didn't you go after the realm crystal?" Lloyd asked._

_"We couldn't leave you behind, not when we just got you back." Kai explained._

_"I would've been fine. You should've stopped him." Lloyd said and Kai gave him a sad look. "But I am grateful you didn't leave me."_

_"I never gave up on you, Lloyd, I was going to get you back one way or another." Kai explained. "I promised I would look after you didn't I?" He reminded him and Lloyd smiled._

_"Yeah, you did."_

* * *

"Lloyd?" He sighed and turned around, putting on a look of relief.

"Kai! What happened?" He asked as he approached said ninja.

"I fell off the ship before it crashed. Were you talking to someone? What happened to your arm?" Kai questioned. Maybe he hadn't heard anything Lloyd had said. He really hoped that he didn't, Lloyd really didn't want to deal with another one of them finding out.

"No? It's just me here and I think I broke it when I fell." Lloyd laughed a little and Kai took a step back. That was strange, Lloyd thought. He hadn't given Kai a reason to back away. "I was actually looking for the princess." He tried to change the subject.

"Right, ok. Then let me ask you this." Kai started. "Are you the Quiet One?"

"No." He answered quickly, maybe too quickly. "I can't believe you're asking me that." He added on.

"I heard everything you just said!" Kai argued. "You asked the Sons of Garmadon to meet you here!" Lloyd walked towards him but Kai's hand instinctively reached for his sword. Lloyd stopped.

"Do you even hear yourself? I'm the green ninja, Ultimate Spinjitzu Master, protector of Ninjago! I'm your brother!" Lloyd shouted in defense. He had to try to convince Kai that he hadn't heard anything.

"Lloyd, I heard what you said, I saw you contact them. I'm giving you this one chance to come clean." Kai said. "Are you the Quiet One?" He repeated.

"Fine, you want the truth? Yes, I am the Quiet One." Lloyd admitted and he saw something break in Kai. The ninja's face changed entirely, like he didn't expect Lloyd to truly be the Quiet One.

"How...how could you do this? You hurt Jay and Zane." He stuttered. The pain could clearly be heard in his voice. Lloyd rolled his eyes and sighed.

"They deserved it." He answered simply and watched as Kai started to connect all the dots.

"Jay deserved to lose his eye and Zane deserved to be damaged beyond our repair?" Kai asked.

"Jay knew things he shouldn't and Zane found our second hideout, I couldn't let him get closer." Lloyd explained as if it was obvious.

"Why?" Lloyd wanted to laugh. He still couldn't believe how stupid the ninja were. How could they have not seen him become the villain? He had all the warning signs of one.

"That's a story that begins with the day my father was banished to the Underworld." Lloyd replied. Kai took a step forward.

"Lloyd, I know you miss your father, but this isn't how you should fix things." Kai pleaded. "You need to stop this."

"You don't understand! None of you ever did! I sacrificed so much for everyone! What have I ever got in return?" Lloyd lashed out. Kai stopped in his tracks.

"We've all sacrificed a lot Lloyd! You aren't alone in that!" Kai corrected him. And he was right, they all had lost something over the years but there was one thing that made a difference between Lloyd and the rest.

"You guys have never suffered long! What you've lost always comes back to you!" Lloyd yelled. "Or have you not noticed that?" Kai thought back for a moment and sadly realized he was right. They really did get back everything but Lloyd? He just continued to lose and lose.

"And what is it you lost?" He asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"My family!" Lloyd cried out and Kai swore he heard his voice crack. "My mother abandoned me and my father died." Lloyd reminded him.

"You have a family with us!" Kai tried to reason with him. "You always have."

"Did I ever really? You all hated me from the moment you met me." Lloyd said. "I was just a troublemaking brat that you wanted nothing to do with."

"We care for you, Lloyd." Kai claimed and Lloyd scoffed at him.

"Did you notice that you all only started to care after you discovered I was the green ninja?" He questioned. "I mean you almost left me to die in a volcano! I'm just a weapon for you to use, without me you're powerless."

"That's not true." Kai denied.

"Isn't it? What happens to your powers if I'm gone? They disappear." Lloyd reminded him. "The only one who cared about me from the day I was born, was my father!" He shouted again and turned away from Kai. He couldn't let Kai see how much it bothered him to argue like this. He hated the ninja and Kai was a ninja. The ninja never wanted him. "And...and Nya, she cared too."

"We all care and not just because you're the Green Ninja." Kai started. "You're my brother!" His voice cracked. "Just come back with me and we can sort this all out. There's still time to-"

"No." Lloyd stated firmly, he turned back to Kai, his eyes were now red. "I am the one who will reunite the masks. I am the one who will resurrect my father. I am the Quiet One."

"I can't let you do this, Lloyd." Kai warned and Lloyd drew his sword.

"Then you'll have to kill me because I won't let you stop me." He told Kai.

"I won't fight you, I can't." The last part came out as a whisper.

"Then how do you plan to stop me?" He asked and Kai realized he really would have to fight Lloyd. So he too, drew his sword. He made the decision right there that he would only be one the defense, there was no way he could actually hurt Lloyd. Not without hurting himself.

"Lloyd, please." Kai begged one last time. "It isn't too late, you can still come back from this."

"You must really think I'm stupid if you thought I'd believe that. After all I've done," Lloyd looked down at his sword, his eyes reflecting back at him. "after all the blood this sword has seen, you really think I could just come back?" He laughed. "No it's too late for me, even if I wanted to, I couldn't." He started to pace in a circle around Kai.

"No one would have to know it was you behind this." Kai tried again to reason with him. He hoped if he could just get through to Lloyd that he wouldn't have to fight him at all.

"The others would never let that happen and you know it. Now if you're done stalling…" Lloyd charged at him but Kai dove out of the way. "Come on, Kai, at least make this fight fun for me. It's the least you can do." He swung again and Kai brought his sword up to block Lloyd's. He pushed him away, giving himself a chance to be ready for Lloyd's next attack. Lloyd barely stumbled though and was quick to return a blow to Kai. They were evenly matched in their sword skills, which meant this fight could last until one grew tired. Kai continued to only block Lloyd's sword and never attacked.

"You can't stay on the defensive forever, you'll have to fight back eventually." Lloyd pointed out. He needed to get him to fight back. "You know I can't wait to see the others' faces when they find out the truth. Especially Nya." Lloyd smirked. Hearing his sister's name seemed to make something tick in Kai and he swung at Lloyd, who wasn't expecting it. He barely had time to dodge as the tip of the sword grazed his face. Lloyd reached up and felt his face, there was blood. "That's better." Lloyd smirked. The fight continued, they each landed a few blows to one another. But there were no major injuries. That is until Lloyd managed to get Kai's arm, which was now covered with blood. He thought Kai would give up there but he just pulled out his other sword.

It didn't make a difference to Lloyd, two swords or not he was still slightly quicker than the other. Kai bumped Lloyd's broken arm when he got close enough, knocking the breath out of him. He used his sword to keep himself balanced while the pain subsided. Lloyd should've finished healing his arm when he had the chance. Kai briefly looked like he regretted doing that and suddenly dropped to his knees, both swords fell from his hands.

"I surrender." He mumbled. Lloyd was shocked, he didn't think the red ninja had it in him to surrender. "I can't hurt you." He admitted in defeat. Lloyd walked over and stood before his former brother. He was about to make a comment but before he could, Kai jumped into action and kicked his feet out from underneath him. He landed hard on his back and his own sword slid away from him. Kai now stood in front of him, with his blade at Lloyd's throat.

"I'm impressed, I didn't see this coming, nor did I think you had it in you." Lloyd said. Kai stood there, his hand shaking, he couldn't go through with the next step. "I won't go quietly, you know what you have to do. You know how to end this." Lloyd encouraged him to kill him, because he knew Kai would never be able to. Kai was never going to win this fight and Lloyd had known this all along.

"I promised I would watch over you and I failed. I let this happen to you." Kai cried a little. "I should've been there for you, Lloyd, I'm sorry."

"You were never there for me. You just pretended to be, to make yourself feel better." He shook his head. "You want to stop me, right? Then kill me, Kai! Kill your younger brother, that you claim you love so much!" Lloyd taunted as Kai held the sword to his throat. He hesitated, couldn't bring himself to do it. Lloyd took the opportunity to kick Kai away from him. He stood up and watched as Kai struggled to rise from the ground. "And to think I didn't even need my power to fight you." He picked up his sword and made his way over to Kai. He kicked him back down before he could get up and stood over him with an evil grin. "What should I do with you?" He mused. "Every time I try to kill one of you, you survive. No, I can use you as bait for the others." The bushes rustled behind them and Lloyd expected one of the other ninja to jump out. But to his relief it was not.

"Lloyd! There you are." Harumi called as she emerged from the bushes, covered in dirt.

"Harumi stay back! Lloyd is the Quiet One." Kai attempted to warn her and she froze for a moment until she saw the situation. Harumi realized she wouldn't have to pretend she didn't know.

"Oh he found out?" She asked nonchalantly. Kai's eyes widened in surprise. Not only had he not noticed Lloyd was the Quiet One but that Harumi was working with him. They had really played right into Lloyd's hand and they had no idea.

"Unfortunately." Lloyd complained. "But it's alright, the Sons are on their way."

"You knew, Harumi?" Kai asked in disbelief. Harumi nodded and walked over to Lloyd, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Betrayed twice in less than thirty minutes, must suck." Lloyd laughed. Kai just stayed silent. Lloyd pulled out his mask as he heard the rumble of motorcycles grow closer. He crouched down as he activated the voice scrambler. "You get to make some new friends with my crew. Don't worry they'll take great care of you." He reassured Kai. The eerie voice sent shivers down Kai's spine. That was no longer Lloyd in front of him. One by one the Sons of Garmadon arrived, lining up beside each other. Kilo was the last to arrive and immediately got off his bike, walking over to Lloyd and Kai.

"We've brought the supplies as requested, Quiet One." Kilo informed him. Lloyd looked over at the bike they had delivered, with some other items they may need.

"Perfect, I have a new job for you." Lloyd stood up and faced Kilo. "This ninja is to stick with you, under no circumstances is he to escape. Should he, it'll be your life on the line." Lloyd ordered. Two of the other members walked over and each grabbed one of Kai's arms.

"What would you like me to do?" Kilo asked.

"Tie him up and bring him with you. Remove any communication devices on him. " Lloyd explained. "Then I want you to track down the rest of the ninja and capture them as well. Oh and make sure this one can't speak at all when you do capture the others, he knows too much. In fact," Lloyd got an idea. "should he try anything, cut out his tongue, that'll really make sure he stays quiet." He turned to face Kai who's eyes were wide with worry.

"Understood, Quiet One." Kilo said as Kai was placed on the back of a bike.

"Oh and I almost forgot," Lloyd started and motioned for Harumi to join him. She walked over and he grabbed her hand. "Attention everyone! As leader and King of the Sons of Garmadon, I would like to introduce you to your Queen!" The Sons cheered. "She has joined our cause and is willing to do anything to help us succeed in our mission. The Queen has my permission to act in my place if I cannot. You will all learn to listen and to obey her." Lloyd finished. "Am I understood?" Multiple members shouted in acknowledgement, but one did not. He walked over to said member. "Ultraviolet?" He questioned. "You know I hate repeating myself and I believe I didn't hear your answer."

"I understand." She forced out.

"Good." Lloyd would have to keep an eye on her, it seemed she was jealous. He didn't blame her, Harumi did just take her place as second in command. However he didn't any insubordination right now, not when they were close to their goal.

"Welcome, my Queen." Kilo said and bowed before her. Others followed and bowed as well. Kai began to struggle on the back of the bike, likely trying to escape.

"Get him out of here, and remember the plan." Lloyd commanded. The Sons returned to their bikes and awaited Kilo's lead. "Do not fail me, Kilo." A slight warning in his voice.

"I will not." Kilo said and lead the others into the forest.

"So what's the plan?" Harumi asked once they were out of sight.

"Well I'm going to leave a note with the mech, explaining that we are fine but Kai got captured and we were unable to help." Lloyd explained. "Hopefully that will prompt the ninjas to go save Kai, buying us some time."

"What if they are successful in doing so?" She asked, clearly concerned.

"They won't, by the time they find this note, the Sons will be right on top of them." Lloyd answered. "It'll only be a matter of time until they are also captured."

"And us?"

"We'll be on my bike, heading for the mask." Lloyd pointed to the bike that was left behind. They walked over and Lloyd pulled his coat off the bike, handing it to Harumi. "It'll get colder as we get closer to the center of the forest." She put it on.

"Thank you." Lloyd nodded and took his mask off, replacing it with one of the helmets left behind. He handed the other to Harumi and got on the bike.

"Ready?" He asked. "I'm gonna need you to guide me, using the map."

"How did you know I had the map?" She asked as she hopped on the bike behind him.

"When will you learn that I'm always watching?" He laughed. "I saw you grab it and stick it in your pocket."

"I didn't think anybody noticed." Harumi admitted. "I only grabbed it so the ninja wouldn't have it." He was actually surprised she had thought to grab the map, but happy that she did. It only meant she really was serious about being on his side, because now the ninja were lost in the woods with no map.

"That's what I like to hear. We're on our own from here on out, the Sons have their mission and we have ours. So which way?" Harumi pulled out the map and looked it over for a moment.

"That way." She said and pointed. "If we keep a straight line, we should come across a river that'll lead us right to the hidden temple."

"Sounds good to me. Though I should warn you, there are a lot of dangerous creatures out here, I hope you aren't afraid."

"I can handle myself, I'm tougher than I look." She reassured him.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He said. "Let's go, we're wasting daylight." Harumi put the map back in her pocket and wrapped her arms around Lloyd's waist. He revved the engine one last time before driving off into the forest.

* * *

_Lloyd heard the door to the room open and close. He opened his eyes and saw Kai standing over by the window, just staring out at the ocean. It had to be close to the middle of the night by now which made him question why Kai was still awake._

_"Kai?" He whispered and sat up. Kai turned to face him._

_"Did I wake you?" He asked. Lloyd shook his head._

_"I was already awake, can't really sleep." He answered. "Why are you awake?" Kai sighed._

_"I can't sleep either." He admitted in defeat. "I'm afraid you won't be here when I wake up. You're my little brother and I already failed at protecting you once."_

_"You guys saved me. I'm alive because of you, Kai." Lloyd reminded him. "If you hadn't dove into the water, I would've drowned. You did your job as my older brother."_

_"None of this would've happened if we had just gone to the museum in the first place." Kai said. They both knew that wasn't true. Sensei had made it clear that Lloyd was the one to go. "You should try to rest if we're going after Moro."_

_"Get some rest too, Kai. I'll be here in the morning." Lloyd reassured him and the red ninja walked towards the door. "Oh and Kai?" Lloyd stopped him. "Thank you."_

_"You're welcome, Lloyd. I'll always look out for you." Kai said as he shut the door behind himself. Lloyd laid back down in his bed._

_"I know."_

* * *

_**So whose hearts are hurting? Anyone's? It hurt us for sure to write this. We love the brotherly relationship Lloyd and Kai have so to make them fight was a lot.**_

_**~Kai**_

**Originally Kai was never going to find out until the others did but then we realized Lloyd had hurt each of the ninja besides Kai and Nya. So obviously we had to make something happen.**

**We hope you liked the idea of the flashbacks because there will definitely be more of those coming with future chapters. Either to show Lloyd's relationship with a character or to show a reason he became the quiet one.**

**New chapter will be up in a few weeks!**

**-Vin**


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